Legend of the Iron Monkey
by Odama Rasendori
Summary: A dying wish to save a life for the price of his own, brought Lee to the arms of death. An angel saves him and grants him the strength to protect his loved ones. What would you do with the power of a god? Lee-centered. LeexTen. Ch 15 Update!
1. Chapter 1

**Legend of the Iron Monkey**

**Naruto Fanfiction  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a single shred of Naruto.**

**_WARNING_, this story shows a lot of O.P material in a later chapters. If you don't like to read anything regarding a character being overpowered, please turn click the "back" button below your "file" tab on your internet explorer, mozilla firefox, or whatever it is that you're using to access the internet. Otherwise, enjoy the story!  
**

**Chapter 1: Introduction  
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Lee's POV**

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I slammed my fist on the ground, creating a small imprint of my fist on it. Neji has defeated me in a sparring match again, for the 100th time this year. I turned to face him, leaning on a fence while chatting with Tenten. His arms are crossed over his chest, eyes closed, so cool. Why can't I be like that? I've trained much longer than he has, and on some occasions, drank my own blood and sweat, so why am I still unable to win? I've used everything that Gai-sensei taught me while being his apprentice and still, zero changes in terms of end results. I know my sensei has been doing his best in his teachings with me, so does that mean the problem lies with me? Can it really be true that the academy students, from my younger days, be right about me? Maybe I really am a talentless-flunky. If I can't defeat my rival even just once, how can I even consider myself his rival? I'm only a target practice, a punching bag to him. His combat style, the jyuuken is still taijutsu, so why can't I get around it? We're both taijutsu students, so why can't I even touch him?

Back before my rivalry with him started, he was using his byakugan against me, but as our sparring matches progressed, he gradually stopped using his kekkei genkai and is still able to best me in one-on-one combat. He has gotten stronger while under the tutelage of Gai-sensei... so what does that mean for me? Does that mean I haven't gotten any stronger than when I was while at the academy? Last year, he only defeated me 152 times, but this year, way more. I wish I knew his secret... I just wish I could be as good as he is. I feel like such a failure to the eyes of my sensei. He has done so much for me, taught me techniques that no one has had the patience to do. I know of my inability to use jutsus, much less chakra manipulation, but that shouldn't mean anything when it comes to an all out taijutsu match. Neji refuses to use ninjutsu or genjutsu against me, despite my telling him to do so. He says that his taijutsu is enough to take me down and he's right.

We continued to wait for our sensei, who is supposed to meet us here, in our training grounds, and pick us up for a mission. He should be here by sunrise, as he always is. He isn't like Kakashi-sensei of team 7, who is always late for just about everything. Those two are so different in so many ways, but are the perfect rivals. They've challenged each other in less battles than I have with Neji, but there's a difference between them than with Neji and I. Gai-sensei is actually able to defeat Kakashi-sensei, and not once have I ever come close in defeating that one that I consider to be my rival, Neji. He's so calm and collected, while I'm nothing like that. Sensei says I'm strong and is proud to be my teacher, but I'm not sure if he's only saying that. How can someone like him be proud of someone like me? I've done nothing but humiliate his teachings as a shinobi, by constantly losing to the same person over and over again. What good am I as his student if I can't even come close to victory from the one person whom I can't even defeat in a shinobi aspect that I claim to be best at? It was just then that sensei arrived in a swirl of leaves, his trademark. I stood up quickly before he was able to see me. I don't want him to see me wallowing in my shame.

"Alright you three, are you ready for today's mission?" he asked us all. Normally, I'd jump at the chance to do a mission, but it's like I don't even feel like it anymore. I'm beginning to lose hope in ever achieving my dream of becoming the world's greatest taijutsu specialist. But I can't let him see that in me. He's done so much to help me as a shinobi and he doesn't deserve that kind of treatment. I faked my smile and my facial appearance.

"Yes sensei! What kind of mission will it be today?" I asked, placing as much energy in my voice as possible, so as to not give my sensei the wrong idea about my true feelings at the moment. If he learned how I really felt right now, I wouldn't hear the end of it.

"I'm glad you asked, my pupil. We are to venture to the village hidden in the clouds to gather some information and stop an assassination. Reports have arrived, bearing information that that village has sent a squad to assassinate all of the elders in the village hidden in the sand, an ally of ours. They don't have much military strength right now, and have asked for our village to send a group to prevent the assassination," he said. "This is a B rank mission, and the Hokage asked me to go on my own, but today is training day and this will replace our training regiment. He gave me permission to take you three on this mission."

My eyes began to glimmer when he said that. We actually get to go on a B rank mission? I thought that those types are reserved for chunin and above shinobi. Gai-sensei is truly the greatest there is! I feel like my self-doubt has been somewhat washed away. I've been training so hard for a chance to prove myself to him and the rest of my squad and here is my chance. I get to go on an advanced mission, I can't believe it! I can't let my defeat from Neji, get me down. I will get stronger, I will defeat him! This mission will make me an even stronger shinobi, I just know it. And after I've learned what I could from this, I will challenge him again, and hopefully come through victorious. I must not hold back and give it my all. Gai-sensei has given me a chance to tell the village that I am not a piece of deadweight to my squad. I will show them, I will show them all that Gai-sensei has not wasted his time on me. I will become a great shinobi!

"When are we leaving, sensei?" asked Tenten.

"We depart at noon," he replied. "Return home, pack some belongings, get some rest, and meet me at the village gates in six hours."

Tenten and Lee nodded as they walked away. I was about to walk away as well, when Gai-sensei placed a hand on my shoulder, effectively stopping me. I turned to face him, glancing into those eyes that belong to the man that I admire.

"Are you alright, Lee?" he asked. "You seemed a little out of it."

"Don't worry about me, sensei. I will be fine," I said, walking away from him. It hurts so bad to have to lie to him like that, but I do not wish to put him in any state that will lower his confidence in my ability to help to complete this mission. He believes in me, he has said that many times. It's just that... I'm starting to not believe in myself. But perhaps this mission will change that. Maybe I'll regain some confidence after accomplishing this task. I nodded to myself and made my way to Naruto's favorite noodle shop. Naruto isn't the greatest sparring partner in the world, but there is something that he can do that I can't, and that alone is enough to drive me to become better at it than he is. So far, he holds the record of having eaten the most ramen in one day, and I vow to throttle that record. I did some exercises this morning, as well as a sparring match with Neji, which leaves a pretty empty stomach, now that I think about it. I shrugged to myself, I suppose I can't go to a mission in an empty stomach, right? When I arrived at the ramen stand, I immediately sat down and sighed to myself as I looked at the order. Teuchi, the owner of the store, stepped into the kitchen and saw me.

"Well hello there, Lee. What will you be having this morning?" he asked politely. I've been coming to this place for a while now, when I learned of Naruto's large ramen record. I was itching to beat it but never found the time to do so, what with all my training and all.

"Just a bowl of chicken and beef ramen please," I replied with an equally polite tone. The ramen chef nodded and got straight to work. Come to think of it, what's he doing awake at this hour? It's still pretty early in the day and he's already awake? Maybe Naruto comes by really early during some days and comes by here to have his daily bowl? I don't know, nor do I really care right now. Well I do but I'm mostly psyched about that B rank mission. I'm a bit short on the money these days and I guess an upper level mission would give a pretty good amount of money that will help me get through the day. While I waited for my ramen to cook, I stepped out of the ramen stand and saw a few people getting up and doing their morning routines. It was just then when I saw a woman and a little boy. She was holding his hand as they strolled through the streets of the leaf village. I looked at the ground in sadness. Why don't I have parents?

That's another thing that bugs me during the day, which is another reason why I train so hard. I get so overly jealous when I see children my age, with their parents. I've been an orphan for as long as I can remember. Naruto and I were actually in the same orphanage, until we became old enough to attend the academy. At that point, we were given our own home and some basic materials to keep ourselves alive. I have a pretty good place and the rent isn't too bad since I get money from missions anyway. I guess Naruto just isn't doing so well with his pay because of all the villagers hating him. I'm really not sure why, but that's beside the point. For a long time now, ever since I knew him, Gai-sensei has been like a father figure to me, but even he can't satisfy the inner child inside me that has been begging to see his real father and mother. I don't tell him that because I love Gai-sensei like my own father, but it still leaves a little hole in my heart, knowing that my real parents left me alone in this world. I know I'm incapable of learning genjutsu and ninjutsu but... my own parents leaving me? It's just too hard to think about. That's one of the reasons why I occupy myself in training. It hurts too much to think about it.

At the smell of my cooked breakfast, I walked back inside the ramen stand and grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and began to devour it. The chicken and beef goodness, paired with the unmatched noodles of the greatest ramen chef in the world, is just plain delicious. When I finished my meal, I pulled out some money from the satchel where I keep my kunais and paid the ramen chef. I wanted to eat more but I have to return home to pack some things and get a bit of rest before my mission with my squad. Before I left the ramen stand, I glanced to a clock that hung on the wall. There's still a good five and a half hours before departure time, which leaves just enough time for me to finish what I need to do. Packing my belongings doesn't take me hours like some girls that I know. I mean, it's not like I wear much of anything else besides my green spandex, right? As I walked to my apartment, I heard Naruto just enter the ramen shop. It's around these hours where he comes to get his meal anyway, so nothing abnormal there. When I reached my complex, I entered and immediately collapsed on my futon. I suppose I can pack later, because right now, I just feel so tired.

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**Four hours later**

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When my eyes opened, I hopped out of my futon, feeling energized and ready for that mission. Remembering that I still had to pack, I went over to my closet and pulled out a gray traveling pack. I took a few sets of my spandexes out of my closet and folded them neatly before placing them inside. I also grabbed a few more satchels worth of shinobi tools that I'll probably be needing. Because of the distance between the leaf village and the cloud village, I'm guessing this mission will take quite a while. After I finished packing, I exited my complex and locked the door before venturing out. The way from my apartment to the village gates is a pretty long walk, but then again, I have quite a bit of time to spare. As I made my way to my destination, I saw a few genin squads and their teachers, training for the day. While my legs moved, my head was elsewhere. Too busy with what was going in front of me, my thoughts snapped back to reality when my body collided with another body. As the person fell, my reflexes kicked in and grabbed the hand and pulled it back up. When my vision was fixated back to reality, I saw who it was.

"I'm so sorry Lee, please forgive me. I wasn't watching where I was going," said Hinata in an apologetic tone. "I'll be more careful in the future, so this doesn't happen again."

"Do not worry, it is not your fault," I said. "I was the one who had my thoughts in the clouds. If I had been watching where I was going instead of daydreaming, such an incident would not have happened. By the way, what's the rush?"

"Oh.. um, I was supposed to meet my squad for training, a few minutes ago. But I was held up by my father, a lecture regarding personal Hyuuga matters," she replied. I nodded to myself. Hiashi sure is an upbeat fellow, perhaps too upbeat for his daughter.

"I see, well, it was nice bumping in to you. Good luck with your training, Hinata," I said as I side-stepped and continued my walking to the village gates.

"Lee, wait!" she called for me. I turned around and saw her walking to me.

"I just noticed your traveling pack. Are you going somewhere?" she asked. I nodded.

"I am going on a mission with my squad today and may not be back for a few days. It's a B rank mission to the village hidden in the clouds," I said, hiding my excitement. I gripped my right hand into a fist, held it near my face, closed my eyes, and smiled. "It is so exciting, just thinking about it. I get to go on my first B rank mission with Gai-sensei and the others. I absolutely cannot wait!"

Hinata smiled as I opened my eyes.

"Ah, alright... you go ahead and enjoy yourself. You sound very happy about this mission," she said.

"Yes I do. I've been waiting for a chance to prove myself to everyone. I know that I am unable to manipulate chakra and use jutsu like the rest of you can, but this is my chance to shine. When I come back from this mission, I will tell you all tales of what my squad and I did, that is a promise!" I exclaimed, expressing my thumbs up posture. Hinata merely chuckled. I wonder what it is that she thinks is funny. Is there something wrong about my posture? Or maybe what I said?

"Lee... you have nothing to prove to the rest of us. Although you're unable to perform jutsus, you're still every bit as capable as the rest of us at performing your duties as a shinobi. You don't need to prove yourself, we know who you are and what you can do. Actually, I envy you, as well as Naruto. You both are always looked down upon by some of the villagers, although Naruto is more than you are. But people think that you're a failure and can't do anything right. They don't expect much from you and expect you to fail miserably. What I like about people like you is that you're able to find strength inside to endure and do whatever it takes to prove people's thoughts about you, wrong," she said. At that moment, I felt my cheeks going red. Did someone, besides Gai-sensei, just compliment me? This girl, although not a very good shinobi, just complimented my feats and ideals.

"I... I do not know what to say Hinata, except thank you," I said. Yeesh, I thought she was the master of stuttering, but I think it was I who just stuttered back there. "I truly am at a loss for words. No one has ever complimented me the way you have. Everyone, besides Gai-sensei, merely focuses on my disability, and not on my main ability. I do not know if you realize it, but you have just given me the strength to continue with my dream. You will see, just as everyone will. I will become an expert shinobi, even if I am unskilled in ninjutsu and genjutsu. I will prove it to everyone!"

Hinata nodded.

"Yes Lee, I know you will. It is just as Naruto said, you have to believe in yourself when no one else will. With that saying, Naruto is able to find the strength he needs to get through the day, and I'm sure you will too. Your sensei believes in you, and if no one else does, I believe in you too. But those beliefs that we have for you, will be meaningless if you don't believe in yourself. That is one of the lessons that Naruto taught me," she said without stuttering. Again, I truly am at a loss for words.

"Thank you so much, Hinata," I said as I turned away and continued my walk. I turned my head to face her and waved my arms in the air. "Good luck on your training, and please give my regards to Naruto. And thank you for believing in me. I will not let you down!"

Hinata nodded and made her way to her squad. I smiled to myself and took to the roof, increasing my movement pace. With what Hinata has just said, I feel more motivated to getting this mission accomplished. She believes in me but she has a point. I have to believe in myself too. At one point in time, during this day, I had almost lost my own confidence, when Neji defeated me for the umpteenth time. But he will see, everyone will see. I'll prove it to them all that I too can become a great shinobi one day. I will show them all what I am made of, and this mission will be my first task. If I can accomplish this mission, I can come back and tell stories of my feats. Yes, that is what I will do. This is my dream and no one can ever take it from me. I can lose a thousand more times to Neji, but I will never give up until I become victorious. Before I knew it, I was already at my destination, with Tenten and Neji waiting for me. Gai-sensei isn't here yet as he's always the last out of all of us to arrive, what with his jonin tasks to deal with and all. After a bit of waiting around, Gai-sensei eventually came around. He inspected our gear for what we were packing, and if we needed anything else. According to memory, this is our first B ranked mission and I bet it's going to be challenging. When our gear was cleared with our sensei, he leaped to the trees, the three of us right behind him. It wasn't until a few hours later when I decided to break the silence.

"Gai-sensei," I called to him.

"What is it, Lee?"

"Besides training, why did you decide to take us on this mission? We're only of the genin rank and this kind of mission is probably a little bit out of our limits, don't you think?" I asked. Sensei smiled at me.

"Perhaps, but we shinobi must always challenge ourselves. Challenges are a good way of testing our limits and seeing what it is that we need to improve on and what is our best feature of being a shinobi. This kind of challenge may be difficult but I have the utmost faith in you, Tenten, and Neji," he said. I nodded to him. I thank him for placing so much faith in us. I only hope it isn't misguided. I've failed so many people in my life and I don't want to fail Gai-sensei any more than I already have. Even with his teachings and guidance, I still can't defeat Neji. I'm such a disappointment to him and to the history of all shinobi.

"Yeah, Gai-sensei is right, Lee," said Tenten, looking over to me. I moved my glance to her direction, looking into her eyes. "Training is a good way to get stronger but how will you ever know what aspect of yourself you'll need to improve on without knowing? Difficult missions like these are perfect for spotting any area of difficulty that you may have. When you find that aspect of yourself, you'll know exactly what to work on."

I nodded to her very reasonable explanation. Maybe this mission will do me a lot of good after all. I spend most of my days just training my physical body, and I suppose I have enough of that. In this mission, maybe I'll find something about myself that needs to be improved, just as Tenten stated. And once I improve that part of myself, who knows? Maybe I'll finallly be able to defeat Neji and be that much closer to achieving my dream. I want my rival to be able to realize that I can beat him too. Plus, I want to crack his ego. We all know that he has a very large one and I want to break it using my methods. I don't care if he thanks me or spits at me. I just want him to respect me as a fellow shinobi. Come to think of it, I just want everyone to respect me as a fellow shinobi. I also want to prove everyone wrong, and that I can be a great shinobi with only the use of my taijutsu.

"Thank you Tenten. I will be sure to keep that in mind," I replied.

"No problem at all, Lee," she said.

"It will be a problem if he gets in our way, like that last mission," Neji added. At that moment, I immediately felt very discouraged. Neji may be a total ass hole, but I just want him to respect me. I know what he says is true though, but he didn't have to reopen old wounds.

"That's enough Neji!" Gai-sensei interjected. "I will not tolerate that kind of behavior from you. What's done is done and is in the past."

"Right, and I suppose he's learned from his mistakes? Let's face it sensei, Lee has a little bit of a fear for missions. Can't you see that his legs are still quivering at times when we're battling with mere bandits and highwaymen? I don't need the byakugan to see something that obvious. I'm sure that even Lee can shed some light into what I'm saying," he said. I slowly nodded. Sensei was about to say his peace but urged him not to. Neji is right, but I can't give up. I have a dream and I'll be damned to leave this world without seeing it come true. Neji will not get in my way... not again.

"You're right Neji, and I do admit that my knees do still quiver, but know this... I will become stronger. You may not believe me when I say this but I will be able to defeat you one day. Like everyone else in this world, I have a dream too and I will see it to the end. Enjoy your victories while they last Neji," I said with new found courage. I hope none of that came from my ass because it sounded too good to be true. Neji slightly flinched at what I said. He scoffed and resumed his silence. I know that Neji isn't the kind to listen to words, but only action, and that is what I will give him.

"That's the spirit Lee, never give up, even when people look down upon you. Continue believing in yourself and you'll be able to achieve your dream. That, I can promise you," said Gai-sensei. For some reason, he always know what to say what I'm down in the dumps. We continued a mild chat for a few more hours, until the sun had begun to set. We decided to set up camp at a clearing that we almost passed, and started a campfire. We pulled out a bit of our rations and dug into it, knowing we'll need the rest for the very long journey ahead of us. It's a good thing I packed a lot of food, or there's no way I can possibly last in this mission. Training is good, and challenging myself is probably even better. But none of that will ever come to pass if I die of hunger. And plus, I'll need my strength for anything that comes my way, during our trek to the village hidden in the clouds.

"Alright everyone, go ahead and get some sleep. We'll continue at dawn," said Gai-sensei. He unrolled his futon and tucked himself in, falling asleep instantly. Neji and Tenten did the same, but it was as if I could not. I feel so restless and when I dodged three kunais from the dark trees, I instantly knew why.

"Everyone, we're under attack!!" I shouted. My loud voice awoke my two comrades and my sensei. They jumped out of their futons and looked around them. Tenten picked up the three kunais from the ground and examined them. It was then that she noticed a strange seal on it, wrapped around the base of the blade. She gasped and tossed it away.

"It's a bomb, move it!" she exclaimed. We all jumped out of our positions to save ourselves, but mere seconds after our feet left the ground, the explosion activated, sending us all flying. Neji crashed into a tree, as did Gai-sensei. Tenten landed on some bushes, but I was not so lucky. My body was propelled further than everyone else and landed on the edge of a cliff where it was impossible for me to see what lay below. I picked myself up and was going to meet with my sensei and my squad, when two shinobi appeared from the darkness. One of them was male, then other female and both looked to be older than me and very skillful. They wore dark garbs and a mask that covered their entire face, save their eyes, much like Kakashi-sensei. They also wore a forehead protector that had the cloud symbol on it. Great, just my luck...

"Whoever you are, I do not wish to harm you. Please step aside so I may be reunited with my squad," I requested calmly, slipping to my fighting stance if action was needed. The male shinobi shook his head.

"We can't do that, kid. We're on strict orders to eliminate the defense unit that is coming to intercept our assassin unit," he said, pulling out two kunai and held one on each hand. The kunoichi did the same and slipped into her fighting stance as well. "It's nothing personal kid, we're just doing our job, just as you were doing yours."

"Then you leave me no other choice. Prepare yourselves," I said as I charged to the male one first. I disarmed him of his weapons and gave him a flurry of punches and kicks, sending him a couple of yards away before moving on to the kunoichi. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Wait a second... expert taijutsu... bushy eyebrows... you're... no way," she said. It was now my turn to narrow my eyes in confusion. I was going to ask her what she meant by that but didn't have the chance to do so as she lunged at me. Unlike the other shinobi, she seemed to be very good in taijutsu, probably even matching my own skills. So this is what Tenten meant about challenging missions. I may be a bit of a lunatic for thinking this but it feels good to have my life in danger. Years of training could never compare to this. The thrill and the solid adrenaline that is going through my bloodstream is just so exciting. We exchanged blow for blow and dodged most attacks, but some of hers managed to get to me, just as mine got to her. I crossed my arms in front of my chest as she reeled in her leg and thrust a powerful kick, sending my back a few steps. I readied myself once more as she did the same. I looked at the male shinobi who was getting up.

"Kisuke, it's him," the kunoichi said. The shinobi looked to me and nodded, glancing to her.

"Yes, Yukina, and this changes our mission," he replied, looking back to me. "Kid, come back with us and we'll call off our squad and leave yours alone. We greatly outnumber you, three to one, so it would be in your best interest to do as we say."

"What in the world would you even want with someone like me?" I asked curiously.

"It's not us that want you, it's someone in our village. I don't know why he requested for us to keep an eye out for your but he said that he would offer a very large sum of money to anyone that brings you to him alive," the kunoichi replied. Kisuke picked up his kunais.

"Come with us now before our squad kills yours," he said. I chuckled. Kisuke and Yukina stood their ground. "What's so funny?"

"My squad holds one of the most powerful genin in my village, a weapons master, as well as the greatest jonin to have ever lived in the history of the village hidden in the leaves. No matter how many you pit against them, they will pull through. The shinobi from the village hidden in the leaves will never give up. As long as the will of fire burns brightly within us, nothing you do or say will hold us down," I said, remembering the words of the Hokage himself when he came by to the academy one time to lecture.

"Nice, kid, really nice. Now seriously, come with us," said the kunoichi. "It's two against one and my taijutsu seems to match yours. You're good but outnumbered. If we have to drag you back unconscious, we won't call off our squad. So it's your choice."

I looked down below and saw only a dark pit of nothingness while atop this cliff. I thought about my sensei and my squad. They've done so much for me, even Neji, and I can't let them die because of me. I have no doubt that they'll be able to come through fine, but what the kunoichi says holds some sense. There is strength in numbers and sometimes, that's all it takes to hold down the strongest warrior. My squad is strong but they're only human, and humans make mistakes. Sooner or later, they'll come down and slip, giving the opposing squad the chance to take them down, and it will be my fault for not agreeing to this proposition. But agreeing to this will defy everything that I have stood up for in the past and will defy all of the teachings that Gai-sensei gave to me. I refuse to fail him, as well as my shinobi way, but I don't wish to get him killed either. Damn it! What should I do? I fell to my knees and used my arms for support.

"Are you ready to come with us?" asked the shinobi.

"I..." I trailed off. Just then, when all seemed lost for me, I heard him. I heard his voice, Gai-sensei's voice, echoing through my mind. I can't entirely make out what he's saying but I think he's telling me not to give up. I smiled, that's exactly what I needed. Mere numbers won't hold my squad down, it's going to take a lot more than just that. I stood up and looked into the eyes of the shinobi and the kunoichi, who were probably wondering why I was smiling.

"I... refuse!" I said. "Numbers won't defeat my squad and neither will you. If you want to bring me back to your client, then I hope you won't be too surprised when you don't get your money. I'd rather be dead than be taken by you."

"Then it is you who leaves us no choice," said the shinobi as he pulled out more explosive kunais. "I'm sure our client will still pay a decent amount for your corpse."

Before he was able to toss them at me, my squad came out from the darkness. Gai-sensei slammed his fist on the shinobi's back, knocking him out cold. The kunoichi picked his explosive kunais up and tossed them at me. Right when I realized what had happened, it was too late for me to dodge it. Tenten came from no where and got in the way, probably going to catch the kunais, but I couldn't allow her to get hurt forme. At that moment, I saw the kunais beginning to explode. I pushed Tenten out of the way as she caught and removed the tag of one of the kunais, but still left one more. The last explosive kunai exploded, but I shielded myself with my arms. As the explosion tore through my clothing, I was propelled passed the edge and down to the seemingly bottomless pit. The torn flesh that the explosion caused on my skin didn't seem to hurt at all, probably because I'm at the point of death. I looked up to my squad, at least they're safe. I have no regrets if I am to die today. I only wish that I lived long enough to defeat Neji, I just wanted his respect and for me to have the ability to truly call myself his rival, but oh well. I tried my best, and that's all I can ever ask of myself. I closed my eyes as the cries of my squad fell on deaf ears.

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Well, there's chapter one. Tell me what you guys think. Oh and, try to be a bit light on the criticism. I have already told you all, if you bothered to read that "warning" area, about what this story will include in the future, so don't be ripping on me if you don't like what's going to happen. If you don't like it, don't read. If you do, tell me what you think about it. Hmm... I think that's all I need to say for now, this is barely the first chapter after all. See you all next time and I hope to get a bit of comments from you guys!

Ja ne!


	2. Chapter 2

**Legend of the Iron Monkey**

**Naruto Fanfiction  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a single shred of Naruto.**

**Chapter 2: Father  
**

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Lee tossed and turned, stirring himself awake. When his eyes opened, he found himself in a decent amount of pain, but less than what he should be feeling. He had just fallen off of a cliff and should be in excruciating pain, if not already dead. He looked around his surroundings, unfamiliar to it all. He was inside a cave, or at least that's what it looked like. There was a dripping sound of water, falling from the ceiling and onto the ground. He found himself leaning on a stalagmite that was sprouted from the ground. He had a white blanket over his body, which was stained red, probably from blood. Lee examined his arms and found that his bandages had been torn to shreds, most likely because of the explosion that he suffered from the exploding kunai. When he stood, he found that his legs were numb and couldn't feel them. Lee shook his legs, allowing the blood to flow through them again. He looked around once more. He now knew that he was inside a cave, but who brought him here? And why? Perhaps the blanket that was on him belonged to that same person as well. Whoever it was, he had to find them. Before he was able to walk the next few steps, a figure emerged from the shadows, standing up from his sitting position. He had black pupils, long black hair, and a fairly muscular upper body. He was light-skinned, wore what looked like a martial arts robe, a pair of cloth pants, and a set of black, leather boots. His hair was tied up to a pony tail and a smile was placed on his lips. He glanced to Lee.

"I see you've finally awoken," he said.

"Who are you? Where am I? Shouldn't I be dead?" asked Lee, booming at the stranger with an explosion of questions. The stranger nodded at all of Lee's questions, fully intended to answer every single one of them.

"You are in my favorite cave where I've lived for quite some time now. You aren't dead because you landed in a large body of water, a flowing river if you will, while I was bathing. I checked for vital signs and found that you were still alive. I brought you back in here and treated your wounds. You've been asleep for about a week," he said. Lee's eyes widened in surprise.

"A week?! Why did you not wake me? I have to return to my squad. I need to tell them that I'm alright. They're probably worried sick about me," said Lee as he turned away. He was about to sprint out of the cave when the man's voice stopped him.

"Do accept my apology, young one. A man with a hair cut similar to yours, a white-eyed fellow, and a bun-haired girl, came here a couple of days ago, in search of you. I hid you away and told them that I had not seen you," he said. Lee walked up to him.

"Gai-sensei, Neji, and Tenten were here and you didn't reveal to them my location? How could you do such a thing? They are my squad and you told them that you hadn't seen me?" Lee asked in anger. The stranger chuckled a bit and walked a little bit passed him.

"I've been waiting for you for a very long time. You must understand why I couldn't let them have you, at least not yet. You're not yet prepared of what is to come and I have to make sure that you are," he said as he turned to Lee. "You've been an orphan throughout your entire life and I do apologize for that. There's a reason why I couldn't show my face to you, or to the village."

"Hold on, how do you know that I'm an orphan? Better yet, who in the world are you?" asked Lee. The man nodded at the question and smiled a little wider, although not very noticeable.

"My name is Hirameki Hanazawa and you... are my son," he said, awaiting for the boy's reaction. Lee was stunned, unable to move. All this time, he has a father, and he never showed himself to the village? Surely there was some sort of explanation, right? No father just leaves his son to be cared for by the rotten citizens of the village hidden in the leaves. Sure they raised him, but they did not care for him the way a true parent should. So why would a parent leave his own child? It made no sense...

"If you're my father, why did you leave me? It makes no sense at all," said Lee.

"I left for a reason and I didn't return for another reason. I left you because your mother died in child birth and I couldn't bear to be without her, so I left you in front of the village gates. You see, your mother and I were running from assassins who were hired by organizations seeking to eliminate our family blood line because we were too powerful. Your mother was injured while we were fleeing and I could not stop it," he said, looking down at the ground in guilt. "When she could run no more, we hid underneath a bridge, near a lake where we bathed in the water to wash away our scent. Because of her injury, her survivability rate was dramatically decreased upon giving birth to you. Her last wish was that our son would live in peace."

"I knew that I couldn't satisfy that request, should I continue to live with you. Assassins will always be after our bloodline and I loved you so much, just as your mother did. I had to leave you in the village that I grew up in. I know that the village hidden in the leaves have the strongest shinobi army in existence, and they will be able to protect you until you are ready to seek me out," he said. Lee nodded every so often, taking in the information. "I spoke to the Hokage, told him never to mention me or my bloodline... your bloodline. When all was secured, I left you and eliminated the organization myself. Once they were taken cared of, I gave your mother a proper burial and became a wanderer."

"So you left me to protect me. I suppose that's good enough of a reason but your story arises a few of my own questions. The first one I will ask is, how were you able to take down an entire organization that had the money to hire assassins, on your own?" he asked curiously. If this man was that strong, perhaps time here wouldn't be wasted after all.

"I was able to take them down because I was raised in the village hidden in the leaves, but also because of our unique bloodline ability, our kekkei genkai," he explained. Lee raised his bushy eyebrow. That was going to be his second question, about this so called bloodline limit that this man possessed. "Our kekkei genkai is a passive ability and consists of one universal power. The first and only is our unique ability to get stronger and stronger, each time we heal from a wound that has inflicted a considerable amount of damage to our bodies. As for the second ability, only one person in the clan may possess it. It allows the person to copy the technique that an individual can use, just by having it inflicted on the body of the person."

"You mean like... a muscle mimic?" asked Lee. Hirameki nodded.

"Precisely. But this wielder can only perform his opponent's techniques one time. After that it has been used, the mind may remember how to do it, but the body will not. It is as if the knowledge of the ability will no longer be known to the body, as opposed to the mind," he explained. "In addition to that, there is a third ability that you may possess, a rapid cellular regeneration ability, which basically means quick healing, but that requires special conditions for you to achieve."

"Those abilities sound very powerful," Lee complimented. "A cellular regeneration ability that will heal any injury, the ability to make us stronger because of such damage, and copy the inflicted attack to have it used against our opponent once? That's pretty amazing... but how is it that I have not awakened these abilities?"

"Oh, but you have, at least only one of them. By surviving an attempt on your life that could have killed you, you have unlocked the ability to get stronger with each time you heal from an injury that has done a considerable amount of damage on your body," said Hirameki. Lee nodded and looked around for the stalagmite that he was leaning on. Once he found it, he approached it, reeled his fist back, and punched it. The mere force of his punch destroyed the stalagmite and a bit of the ground that it was planted upon.

"Not bad, kid, but with a bit of training in this place, you'll be able to do more than what you just did," said Hirameki. Lee turned around with a smile.

"How do I unlock the other two parts of my kekkei genkai?" Lee inquired, completely thrilled upon the new found knowledge that there really was someone watching over him through his life. Never in his lifetime had he experience so much confidence in himself. Maybe now, his dreams of becoming a great shinobi with only the use of taijutsu, can be achieved after all. Hirameki approached his son.

"Achieving your rapid cellular regeneration ability will be very difficult and very time consuming, but invaluable for what you have to face in the future. You must train here, in this cave for a long time, maybe even years depending on your dedication, or until you master all the powers of the Iron Monkey. In time, this cave will grant you the power to heal very quickly," he said, raising another question in Lee's mind. Any amount of years is a long time, but rapid cellular regeneration will indeed be very useful for a taijutsu master. Besides that...

"What is an Iron Monkey?" he asked.

"It is not an, it is the," said Hirameki. "The Iron Monkey is an immortal deity, in human shape with a monkey tail, who taught taijutsu to man. The Iron Monkey is a skilled individual in all fields of jutsus, especially taijutsu. His mastery in unarmed combat was unmatched by anyone who drew breath in this planet. So powerful was he in taijutsu, that he scoured the world for anyone who could defeat him in hand to hand combat. When he found no one, he fell in love with a young, mortal girl, who bore him a son."

"Being an immortal deity, the Iron Monkey was incapable of aging and found that his lover was aging right before his very eyes. He was so in love with this woman, that he wanted to spend what remained of her life, together. But in order to do that, he would have to give up his powers and his immortality, but he could not just give it to anyone. So he trained his son. He trained his son to be able to perform the highest level of jutsus, and also to be a master of taijutsu."

"When his son was able to do what he had hoped for, he passed down his powers and immortality to him, as well as his staff. But when the rites were completed and his son claimed his title as the Iron Monkey, the son found that he was unable to perform ninjutsu or genjutsu, that is the curse that the Iron Monkey's powers bestow upon the user, but that didn't matter. All the knowledge and wisdom of the Iron Monkey, was passed down to him and he used that power to protect his family. When the time came, the former Iron Monkey and his wife died from age, while his son lived on," said Hirameki, almost finished with his tale. "For generations upon generations, the power of the Iron Monkey was passed down from parent to child. Its power was enough to protect our clan... until your grandfather gave it to me. I was a fool and made terrible decisions, decisions that cost me the lives of our entire clan. Now, you and I are all that's left of our clan. I'm sorry, my son."

"I see..." said Lee. So that's why no one else heard of his family, because they were all dead before he was born, all except one. His father was responsible for the deaths of his clan, but he knew that his father had good intentions. Him being alive now and given the chance to live a normal life, was proof of that. Everyone deserves a second chance. "I can forgive, it's not that that you must worry about. I know of our history now, but I have a dream to accomplish and I think only you can help me now. I need to awaken my bloodline abilities and achieve my dream. I know that a few years is a long time but it is a sacrifice that I'm willing to make. I need to become strong enough to defeat my opponents and protect those that I care about."

Hirameki nodded.

"If those are your intentions, then I will train you. And as an added bonus, this cave was once the home of the original Iron Monkey and does possess some special properties. You see, time is different in this cave, than it is with the outside world. One year in here is approximately one week in the outside world. That being said, 10 years spent here will pass only 10 weeks in the outside world. In addition to that, your physical appearance will age only by what amount of time passes in the outside world, meaning, even if you stay here for 10 years, your body will change as if only 10 weeks have passed. That is why I stayed here until fate gave me the opportunity to meet with you at a proper age. Plus, I needed more time to get stronger so I can be a proper teacher for you," he said.

"But you said you've spent your times in this cave until you met me. That must mean you're thousands of years old, perhaps even more," said Lee. Hirameki nodded. "How can I master in a mere decade, what took you several thousand years?"

"I did it the hard way. You see, I inflicted injuries on myself to become stronger. Normally, that is impossible as our kekkei genkai only works when others inflict the damage to us. I had to constantly stab my body onto some of these stalagmites to activate that ability. And since I possess the powers of the Iron Monkey, I am incapable of creating shadow clones that I can use to train with, so I trained on my own. It was only a few decades ago that I finished training my body and decided to meditate, to train my mind and spirit. You will be able to all of this easily because you will meet challenges in your life, from all shapes and sizes. Some may even be stronger than you, but if you can achieve the power that may be granted to you by this cave, and if you can receive the spirit of the Iron Monkey, many things will be within your grasp," he explained. "I have a feeling that something big will happen within 10 weeks in the outside world, and I want you to have at least unlocked the full extent of your bloodline limits, before facing those challenges. You can train your skills at another time."

"I understand. But I have one final question. You explained to me how I unlocked my first ability, and how I'm going to receive the healing power. So how do I unlock the muscle mimic ability?" he asked, wondering how to release the last of his hidden kekkei genkai.

"The only way for you to gain that ability is to become the Iron Monkey, the power that I possess. I will pass it down to you when you are ready," he said as he leaped a couple of yards away and slipped into a combat stance. Lee formed his own fighting stance as well. "But before we start, please tell me the name that the village has given you. I will call you by that name until your training here is complete. At that time, I will tell you the name that your mother and I have given to you."

"My name is Rock Lee, but please, call me Lee," he said. Hirameki nodded.

"Alright, Lee, let's begin!" he said as he charged at his son. Lee tightened his fists and dashed toward the Iron Monkey as well.

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**Four weeks (four years in the cave) later**

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Everyone, except for team 7 who was away on a mission, mourned for the loss of one of their brightest genin, Rock Lee. According to his jonin teacher and his two squad members, he was last seen falling down a near bottomless area, from a very high cliff. A search party was sent for him and have been sent to find him for two weeks, but every party returned empty handed. Although many knew him, few took the time to mourn his loss. But no one, not even his squad members, mourned as much as his jonin teacher, Mito Gai. The boy was like a son to him and he was unable to protect him. Lee resembled everything that Gai was and so the blow of the loss was greater on the jonin than it was to everyone else. After the Hokage declared Lee to be dead, Gai was never the same. He stopped preaching about the youthfulness in everything. He became the sensei that Neji always wanted, but Tenten no longer liked. Gai was never his cheerful self, always taking everything seriously, even light jokes.

Another one who was affected to a certain degree, was Hinata. She was the one that Lee last spoke to, besides his squad, and the one to be questioned by ANBU, upon Lee's disappearance. She was affected because Lee shared a similar goal that Naruto has and she found herself admiring people with aspiring goals as those two have... well, only one of them now anyway. She hoped that Naruto wouldn't meet the same fate in his mission as Lee did. The young heiress knew that her heart would not be able to handle a second blow. Besides Hinata, Neji and Tenten were also affected, but mainly Neji. The misunderstood Hyuuga, although never admitting it, always considered Lee as a powerful rival, and someone worth every moment in a sparring match. Now Lee has gone to the afterlife without knowing how the Hyuuga really felt about him. Neji had always thought of Lee as a brother, mainly because he was one of the few people that he met who never questioned his status as a branch member of the Hyuuga clan, but always recognized his skills in battle more than his rank in his family.

Tenten had also thought of Lee as a brother, as she didn't have any siblings of her own. Her parents, being busy shinobi and blacksmiths, never really had the time to raise another child and would often have Tenten to care for herself. She didn't mind it at all, but sometimes wished for the company of another sibling. Lee treated her that way, and what made it special was, no one else treated her that way. The loss of Lee was like a massive strike to her spirit, a strike that wasn't capable of mending for a very long time. Even as a shinobi that wasn't talented in ninjutsu or genjutsu, Lee was still a respected individual, but he was now gone without that piece of knowledge shared to him.

Neji and Tenten awaited for their sensei at their usual spot. Even with Lee's death, they were still charged with completing their mission and the mission was accomplished, but it was one of their scariest ones yet. Throughout the whole time, their sensei had not shed a single word. They merely followed his body actions and acted accordingly. When they made mistakes because Gai remained silent, he merely shook it off as if he didn't care, but they knew that he did. The loss of his pupil was probably too much for him to take, especially since it was Lee that followed in every single step of their sensei's teachings. They patiently waited until Gai appeared in a puff of smoke.

"So sensei," said Tenten. "What are we doing today?"

"The Hokage has assigned me an A rank mission and I'm not taking you two, it's far too dangerous. I will return in a couple of weeks, until then, train on your own or take the time off," he said as he vanished as quickly as he came. Neji sighed and decided to head home, as did Tenten. As Neji walked to the Hyuuga compound, he wondered what life would be like if Lee was still around. Gai-sensei would definitely not be acting this way. His friend pretty much admired their sensei like he was some kind of god, a Japanese diety of sorts. Lee was the one that inspired hope into their sensei, who never really had much of a family of his own. Either he was way too busy with his shinobi work, too weird for any woman, or that he wasn't very appealing to the eye.

On his way to his home, Neji passed by the Ichiraku ramen stand, the place that Naruto had practically made as his personal kitchen. Over time, Lee had started to come by to this place as well. His intentions were never really clear to anyone, nor did anyone really ask. According to the ramen chef, Lee was trying to eat more ramen bowls than Naruto ever could. But even Neji knew that to be an impossible feat. No one, not even a champion of food eating contests, can top Naruto's record in eating the most amount of ramen in one visit, yet Lee wanted to break that record. Lee always wanted to achieve the impossible, such as trying to defeat Neji in a taijutsu combat, or eating more ramen than Naruto. He would challenge himself, pit himself against difficult tasks everyday, just to make himself stronger or at least better than someone at something, but he always had pure intentions. Neji looked to the ground. The loss of Lee would be something that the genin of his generation would be talking about for a while.

When he reached his compound, he found his uncle, Hiashi, working on some documents, his cousin Hanabi training, and his other cousin, Hinata, training as well. Is this some sort of holiday for genin and a day for missions for jonin teachers? Neji could have sworn he passed by Shino and Kiba, as well as Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji, on the way to his home. The only ones not on vacation were the members of team seven; Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. They get to have all the fun while everyone else has to sit back, bored out of their minds. It probably wouldn't bug someone like Shikamaru or Choji, hell maybe even Shino, but it bothers everyone else when they know that they should be doing something but are unable to do it without proper guidance. Neji joined his cousins but not in training. He sat down and began to meditate, reflecting upon his past. Hiashi noticed the arrival of his nephew and left his paperwork on his desk. He approached Neji.

"Why are you not training with your squad, Neji? Has your sensei left you for a mission as well?" asked the older Hyuuga.

"Yes he has," replied Neji.

"It's because of that Lee child, no doubt. Stupid fool had to get himself killed. Now all of you are paying for his mistake," said Hiashi. Neji stood from his meditation position and glanced into the eyes of his uncle. Even as head of the clan and the compound, no one has the right to insult anyone from the village, especially one who had such an effect on people who didn't realize his importance to the village until he was gone from it. Hinata ceased her training and glanced at her father as well, giving him a rare look that she would only give to her opponents during missions. Lee had an effect on her too and was actually a good friend. Her father had gone too far this time. She could usually tolerate his nonsense, but saying such things about someone who is already dead is foul-play. It's as good as hitting someone in the back.

"Father, you don't know what you're saying!" she shouted, approaching her cousin. "Lee isn't a fool. If anything, he's a braver shinobi than the rest of us, even Neji. He had a dream, a dream that's comparable to Naruto's. He wanted people like you to respect him but he knew it wouldn't be easy. That's why he trained harder than anyone. He wanted to prove to people like you that even someone that couldn't perform ninjutsu or genjutsu, is capable of achieving great lengths with only taijutsu. He's handicapped in a sense, but that's no reason to talk behind his back."

"Hinata..." Hiashi trailed off.

"She's right, uncle," said Neji, nodding to his cousin. "I didn't treat Lee very well and now that he's gone, I know that I probably should have. He's more to me than I would ever let anyone know. Lee was like a brother to me, one that I never had in this wretched family. He was the first person that I met who never mocked me for being a part of the branch family. He respected my skills as a shinobi, not my rank in this family and that's something that earns my respect. I never told him this, and I know I should have. I refuse to allow someone like you to kick his name like a piece of meat."

"Lee is more than what you have ever become, Hiashi," said Neji. Hiashi was stunned, not just of Neji's out burst but Hinata's display of backbone as well. Perhaps this Lee character really was more than what anyone could expect of him. If he was able to give his daughter this kind of courage, then maybe he was wrong in making a mockery of such a shinobi. Anyone who can inspire that amount of confidence in his daughter is definitely one to be remembered. Hiashi sighed and retreated to his quarters, allowing his nephew and his daugter to resume their training and meditation. In all honesty, he wasn't really working on his paper documents, but mainly thinking about all of the times when he would insult people who were lower than his own stature. Perhaps Hinata and Neji were right in some aspect about Lee.

Gai increased his speed as he exited the village gates. He didn't really have an A rank mission at all, but instead requested for permission from the Hokage to continue his search for Lee's body. He just couldn't accept the fact that Lee was dead without finding a corpse or something to prove to himself that his brightest pupil could be dead. Where others have given up searching, Gai would not. It's not like he had his own family to care for. Lee was pretty much his only family and he knew that his own family would never give up on him either, had he been on the same shoes. Lee had fallen off a cliff, not too far from the village borders. That place is a good several hours of running, but he would search it again. He had been in many search parties during the time where people were still interested in finding him, and they didn't find a single shred of evidence that the taijutsu practioner could still be alive. But even as they all gave up, Gai couldn't allow himself to do the same. He knew that Lee was out there somewhere, and he was driven to find him and bring him back.

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"Come on Lee, you've gotten better but you still have areas of improvement," said Hirameki as he sent his son sprawling on the ground. They had been training for four years now and Lee had long since unlocked his rapid cellular regeneration ability, which was proving to be something that would come in handy after all. As soon as he and Hirameki learned of his new ability being unlocked, Hirameki decided to use stronger efforts into training his son, knowing that his body would be able to take it all, and he was right. Lee became a powerful master of the art of taijutsu, but still had much to learn in armed combat. The Iron Monkey's main weapon is a retractable bo-staff. Lee had been battered and bruised by the legendary weapon of the Iron Monkey, but his body healed every single injury, turning it all into added power for his body to absorb. Lee stood up and felt his broken rib mending itself. He gripped his training staff and lunged at his father.

Both opponents exchanged blow for blow, some of which actually landed on Hirameki, but more landed on Lee. The staff of the Iron Monkey is indeed a powerful weapon, and Lee saw to it the hard way. His father was no longer holding anything back, once they found out that he had unlocked his healing ability. Whenever Hirameki broke some of Lee's bones, he would feel a tinge of sadness but shook it away. Lee's power can handle any type of injury and every time he heals from it, the energy used to inflict damage onto his body would make him stronger instead. Even with all the strength and enhanced abilities that Lee had mustered through the four years of training, it still wasn't enough to defeat his father, but he knew he had to in order to make him proud, as well as his entire clan. The four years that he spent in the cave wasn't just used for training, but also for education about the history of his clan. Lee was never one for scholastic teachings, but found the history of his clan rather interesting. He absorbed the knowledge like a sponge and enjoyed his father's lectures about their Iron Monkey deity.

Besides his enhanced mind and body, his physical appearance had changed as well. He no longer had bore the bowl-cut hairstyle but was instead replaced by spiky black hair. Since there was no barber or hair specialist in the cave, Lee had educated himself in cutting his own hair. The spiked areas of his hair also had a small bit of hair dye, courtesy of his father, that was colored red. He had also discontinued his use for his green spandex. His father offered him a long, white, leather coat that exposed his bare chest and arms. It stretched all the way down the the knee area of his white cloth pants. He also wore a pair of wrist bands, and a pair of leather army boots that his father attained from the west, during his wandering days. His eyebrows were no longer bushy either, but slimmer and resembled a set of normal eyebrows, like his father. Lee parried a down strike from his father and was about to break his father's kneecap, when he vanished. Lee's eyes moved around slowly, trying to detect his father's movements. When he felt a small ripple around him, he turned around and blocked what could have been a painful strike to his back. Hirameki smiled.

"Good, very good," he complimented as he kicked off of Lee's chest and landed a few feet away from him. Lee smiled as he vanished as well, increasing his movement speed so Hirameki couldn't see him. The Iron Monkey smirked and matched his son's speed, knowing that he could still go a lot faster but wanted to maintain a speed that wouldn't put him at too much of and edge. The two fighters clashed in the air and disarmed each other of their weapons. Hirameki was about to pick up his staff, when Lee kicked it away and engaged his father in hand-to-hand combat. Hirameki knew that his son is a prodigy in taijutsu combat, but he didn't know that Lee would be able to master all of his own techniques in mere days. Lee really does have an eye for taijutsu techniques. The boy blocked a punch to his face and elbowed his father to the nose, causing a small dent on it. Hirameki's healing ability healed the injury right away, feeling a bit of strength flow through him from the other part of his kekkei genkai. While Lee was here training, Hirameki was slowly getting stronger too. He avoided a kick from Lee and punched him on the throat, hearing the much needed crack, and sent his son crashing to a wall.

Lee's neck cracked again, placing the misplaced muscles and bones back to its original position with the help of his rapid cellular regeneration. If not for that handy ability, he'd surely be dead long ago. Ever since he unlocked his healing ability, he knew that he was that much closer to achieving his ultimate dream. All he needed now was the final part of his kekkei genkai, and everything would be set. Getting stronger would be much easier, but he wouldn't stop there. He promised himself to use his power to protect all of his loved ones, as soon as he received them. After attaining two out of the three parts of his kekkei genkai, he knew that he would have to defeat the Iron Monkey to become the Iron Monkey and unlock his third ability. His father had explained to him what he saw in his visions. In his visions, Hirameki saw a large shadow of what looked like a snake, looming over the village hidden in the leaves. He informed Lee that this snake would be the end of one of the most powerful figures in the village, if he wasn't strong enough to face it. There's six years of training left, he still had a long way to go, but he had faith in himself, just as everyone else in the village does. He would either return to them as the Iron Monkey, or not at all. Lee grabbed his training staff, as did Hirameki, and engaged in armed combat once more.

"I will defeat you, father. I will become the next Iron Monkey!" shouted Lee, his voice echoing through the cave.

"I wouldn't have it in any other way, son. But you'll have to get much stronger and much faster in order to claim your rightful title as the next Iron Monkey of our clan. It will be hard, I won't go easy on you, but I know you can do it. You are the pride of our fallen clan, the beacon of hope to your mother, and a champion in my eyes," said Hirameki, parrying a strike from his son's staff. "When you become the Iron Monkey, evil will quake in their feet when they hear of your coming. Become the next Iron Monkey, Lee, and make me proud!"

"I'll do more than just make you proud, father. I'm going to see to it that the village remembers our clan as well as our enemies. I will tell tales of the mighty clan, descended from the deity himself. It will be the talk for generations to come and our enemies will learn to respect our name," said Lee.

"That's my boy. Now let's continue."

"I was hoping you'd say that."

With that said, both fighters leaped back and charged at each other, once more in breakneck speed. Due to the powerful enchantments of the cave, their fighting spirit was masked to the outside world, impossible to be detected or heard by local passersby. Adding to that, only those who are descendants of their bloodline, would be able to seek refuge into the cave. Others will see it as an ordinary cave and become entrapped by a spell that will cause their minds to turn them away from the cave and force them to forget about ever wanting to enter it for whatever reason that they may have. It is because of such powerful enchantments that Hirameki chose the cave to for the training ground that his son would partake in. Besides that, there was the different flow of time to consider, perfect for defying the laws of time in the outside world. Lee would receive his proper training while still having the time to save his village from the snake that clouded Hirameki's visions. Lee is getting stronger, he could feel it. And once he becomes the Iron Monkey, the village hidden in the leaves would be saved.

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**Alright, for those of you who have already read this chapter, I've added a very small and probably insignificant addition to the chapter that will be explained in further chapters. Chapter 3 will be posted after New Years for obvious reasons and because I'll be busy with tons of preparations. Stupid New Years celebration will be at my house so that means more chores for me... great... just what I needed. Oh well. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

**Ja ne! XD**


	3. Chapter 3

**Legend of the Iron Monkey**

**Naruto Fanfiction  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a single shred of Naruto.**

**Chapter 3: Rebirth  
**

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**Six weeks (six years in the cave) later**

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Lee stood in front of his father, well rested and fully energized for his final test. After 10 years of training and education of his ancestors, Lee was finally ready for the last section of his test, the test to see if he was fit to hold the title and spirit of the Iron Monkey, as well as the staff of said deity. Lee knew that the staff of the Iron Monkey is unbreakable, but it possesses another ability. It is light as a feather to the wielder, but weigh much more than 200 tons to anyone else. He knew that if he had any chance of defeating his father, he would have to remove the staff from his hands. Lee had complete confidence his his skills with taijutsu, but he knew all too well that his father is a powerful master with his staff and other forms of weaponry. It's a good thing that he decided to train in the cave, or he wouldn't have unlocked his rapid healing ability. Without that, he honestly didn't know if he would even stand a chance against the Iron Monkey. In addition to his healing power, he also possessed the ability to become stronger for every time his body healed a wound. The energy inflicted on his body became added power instead of pain, a useful trait for becoming stronger in small portions of time. Now, all that was left of his kekkei genkai was the muscle mimic ability. He knew that such an ability would be invaluable to his career as the Iron Monkey and had to have it.

Hirameki glanced into the eyes of his son. He was more determined now, overflowing with confidence and well guided courage from the years of training in the cave and harnessing the inner power that lay dormant inside him. The Iron Monkey had long since awaited the day when his son would arrive to him. He waited patiently for that that day to come, and when it did, he knew that his prayers were answered. He knew that his only chance of redemption to his clan, was to train Lee to wield his kekkei genkai, and to make him strong enough to properly wield the clan's title, the spirit and the absolute power of the original Iron Monkey. Along with the spirit of the Iron Monkey, Lee's third ability would activate, allowing him to mimic anything that his opponent throws at him. But there's a side effect to losing the spirit of the Iron Monkey to another. The former wielder of the spirit would not only lose his immortality and muscle mimic abilities, but the healing ability would weaken severely. He could still heal, but only cuts and small bruises. If a fatal injury would be inflicted on him, he would surely die. He can still become stronger by healing from wounds, but the given strength will not be as great. However, Hirameki didn't care. He knew that he had lived long enough and wanted to join his wife and his clan in peace. And in order to attain such peace, he had to know that his son would be equipped with all the powers that his ancient ancestor entrusted to their clan. Hirameki nodded.

"Are you ready for your final test, Lee?" asked Hirameki. Lee nodded.

"But I have one final question before we start. You told me that you would tell me my original name. So what is it?" asked Lee. The Iron Monkey smiled, happy that his son remembered that promise that he me to him 10 years ago, before any of the training started. But there was one thing that Lee had forgotten. The promise had strings attached.

"I'm glad that you remember what I proposed to you, Lee, but you've forgotten one other thing. I'm only going to tell you once you become the Iron Monkey," said Hirameki.

"I didn't forget that, father. I'm just making sure you would remember. I'm very curious to know my true name, you know," said Lee as he prepared himself for what was to come. Hirameki smiled a little wider, showing his understanding, but immediately retreated to a serious expression. Once everything was said and done, Hirameki charged at his son with everything he has. He sent a flurry of strikes to Lee, all of which were parried or avoided. Lee loosened his hold on his staff to allow maximum dexterity, but not too loose. With that, he countered the strikes that his father sent to him. The spiky-haired teen flipped his staff to the side, allowing the circular base of his staff to face his father. When it was properly positioned, Lee performed a quick set of stabbing motions. As he figured, not a single one made connection with Hirameki's face. Lee twisted his body and swung at his father with the other end of his staff, only to have to smashed to pieces with his father's elbow. Lee held a gasp in his throat, not expecting his staff to have broken so early, but he was sort of glad for it. He was more of a taijutsu practitioner anyway. But before he was able to use his fists, Hirameki tossed his staff to Lee, who caught it by instinct. Instantly remembering the effects of the staff, Lee was pulled to the ground.

He tried to lift the staff from his crushed hands, but it was futile. The staff was so heavy that it was crushing his bones, leaving an imprint on the ground, and yet it was still sinking, as if pushing itself down along with him. Lee could feel his healing ability already kicking in, trying to heal the bones of his crushed hands, but it was no use until the staff was removed, but at least it kept the pain away. The hidden leaf shinobi knew that Hirameki would pull something like this, he expected it too, but when it came, he just took it and fell for the trap like a mouse and some cheese on a mouse trap. He looked at his father, who amazingly wasn't taking advantage of the current predicament. Lee was unable to move, so why was his father not kicking him or punching him? This is the perfect opportunity and Hirameki isn't taking it. So why? Hirameki watched in interest at how Lee was going to pull himself out of this one.

"Come on Lee, you can do it," he said. Lee narrowed his eyes. Why was his father cheering him on? Wasn't the point of this test to beat the Iron Monkey? He knew that his father wanted him to become the next Iron Monkey, but cheering the idea like this shouldn't be the way to do it. To become the Iron Monkey is an honor that is given to someone who has proved himself worthy through years of training... right?

"Why are you cheering me on? Why is it that you aren't beating me down like you should be doing?" asked Lee. "I'm pretty much at your mercy, so why aren't you taking advantage of it? I've fallen for your trick and yet you stand there, doing nothing? You're actually hoping for me to lift this staff and use it against you? Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. This thing can only be carried by you, the wielder."

"That's not true, Lee, but if that is what you truly believe, then you will never gain the power you need to protect those that you live for, or the power to achieve your dream. Many people in your village believe in you. Are you saying that their faith is misguided? Are you honestly saying that they shouldn't believe in you?" asked Hirameki. What the hell was he trying to do? "If that is what you think, then maybe their faith is truly wasted on you after all. If you don't believe in yourself, what is the point to their believing in you?"

"Why did you stay here for so long? You could have left right after your rapid cellular regeneration ability was unlocked. You could have returned to your village so many years ago, but you didn't. You believed that you could become the Iron Monkey by training harder than anyone else ever has and surviving this hell-hole that I've given to you. Now come on, lift the staff. It belongs to the Iron Monkey, his weapon is in your hands. What's the problem? Lift it! Or maybe you've lost all faith and self belief in yourself? Perhaps you don't think you can do it anymore?" asked Hirameki, getting into Lee's head.

"Alright, don't lift it. Become the failure you've always told yourself that you are!"

"Walk out of this cave with 10 wasted years."

"Return to your village knowing you gave up on something that you endured through so long of your life."

"Return to them as a failure and tell them that you couldn't accomplish the task that you've been training for."

"Tell them that you failed because you couldn't believe in yourself!"

Belief... could it be? Lee closed his eyes and remembered everyone in the village. Gai-sensei, Tenten, Neji, Hinata, Naruto, everyone, they all believe in him. It was just at that moment that he remembered what Hinata told him before he met with his squad to start the mission. She told him to believe in himself. What if this test isn't about defeating the Iron Monkey? What if this test is actually about being able to lift the staff without being the owner of it? Lee was so sure that the weight of the staff would make it impossible for him to lift it, but if his father has faith in him, if his friends have faith in him, then the final key, the final ingredient to the stew is... belief in himself. So that's what all this is about. Lee nodded to himself as he instantly remembered the events of 10 years ago when his beliefs were misguided. He lost faith in ever achieving his dreams of gaining respect and becoming a great shinobi, when he convinced himself that he was a failure. Lee shrugged his shoulders. It's worth a shot. He gripped the staff and closed his eyes for a few seconds, gathering his strength. He opened his eyes and looked at the staff.

"I... I... I believe!" with that shout, he pulled his arms up and found himself lifting the staff of the Iron Monkey as if it was as light as air. He lowered it to his body level and carried it with one hand, twirling it around with mastered expertise. He looked to his father and smiled, who in turn returned the smile. Lee returned the staff to his father, but refused it. Lee was taken aback in confusion.

"But this staff belongs to..."

"The Iron Monkey," said Hirameki. "The final test is not to defeat me. Honestly, do you really think you can defeat someone who has trained for centuries? I would hope not. The test is to see if your belief is as strong as who you are inside. Your friends believe in your ability in becoming a great shinobi. I believe in your ability to carry out what I and your ancestors have for generations. You must believe in your own abilities to protect those that you care about. Strength doesn't make a warrior, nor does skill. One must believe he can win, so he can win. If you fail to believe, you believe to fail. Self belief is something that no one can teach you. It is something that you must find in yourself."

"I understand... thank you father," said Lee.

"Now, on to the next part," said Hirameki as he placed his right palm on Lee's forehead. After reciting some inaudible words several flashes of light exited Hirameki's body and entered through Lee. Said teen felt an incredible surge of cosmic energy, enter his body. It was as if the power of the universe was making his body its home. When the light show ended, Lee's body was glowing with golden rays of pure energy. It was at that time that he noticed the mark of a monkey's tail on his left shoulder. He had never felt so strong in his life. So this is the power of the Iron Monkey... it felt wonderful. Lee tapped the staff twice, on the ground, and watched as it retracted itself to a smaller version. He placed it inside a container on his belt and sealed it. He then looked to his father.

"So now that I'm the Iron Monkey, what will you do?" he asked.

"I'm going to continue wandering. Now that I'm mortal again, there are things that I'd like to experience for myself. Don't worry too much about my safety though. Even though you now hold the spirit of our clan's deity, I'm still a very good warrior and can take care of myself. My healing ability isn't as great as it used to be, such are the effects of passing down the spirit to another, but it's still there," said Hirameki.

"You are my son, but you cannot come with me, nor can I live with you in the village. My time as the Iron Monkey is over, and now it is your turn, my son," he said as he picked up some food and water from the side of the cave. He looked to his son once more. "And remember, you are never alone. He who protects the clan is protected by the clan. The spirit of the Iron Monkey is now one with you. You are now a god, and I know that you will use your power for justice and to save others, just as I have and just as your ancestors have. You've made me proud, son, now you must make the clan proud. They will be watching you from the stars so try not to disappoint them."

Just as Hirameki turned to leave, Lee's voice stopped him.

"So... what is my true name?" he asked.

"Kira Hanazawa," Hirameki replied. "And one more thing. If you're going to bring someone else in his cave, you might have to knock him out first. This cave has powerful defenses that will prevent those who are not of our bloodline, from entering. And if you do allow an outsider to enter, the cave may have different effects on that person, as opposed to what it's had on you. Lastly, for the bathing part, you'll want that person to bathe under the waterfall, at the entrance of this cave, and make sure you're near him. If you and your guest walk too far from the cave, it will collapse, meaning you won't be able to use it ever again."

When Lee nodded in understanding, his father nodded as well and walked away. Lee smiled to himself as he implanted the name and information into his brain. To his clan and father, he is known as Kira Hanazawa, the name that his father and late mother, have given him. To his friends, he is know as Rock Lee... wait a second... friends?! That's right, he still had to return to them. Being an immortal deity, he wondered if he would still need food and water to live. He shrugged his shoulders and took the rest of the rations anyway. After securing it all in a bag, he swung it over one of his shoulders and was about to step out of the cave, when he saw his old spandex and forehead protector on the ground. He mentally smacked himself for almost forgetting those things and included them in the bag with his rations. He looked up the sky, and smiled above. He would only come out to bathe and so he was never able to experience as much free time under the sun as he should have. As he looked above, he remembered that he fell down, 10 years ago, from a cliff. There's a mountain above so it's probably a reasonable idea to go up there so he could resume his trek back to the village. He looked around him, making sure no one was around, and took a giant leap, landing on a tree on top of the cliff where he fell from, all those years ago. He reminded himself to work on the jump as he dropped down from the tree and walked back to the village.

On his way to the village, he heard a fairly loud and familiar voice, not too far from him. He turned to his side and saw a familiar bunch, people that he had not seen in 10 years. It was squad seven; Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and their jonin sensei, Kakashi. Lee wondered to himself as to what they were doing out of the village when he remembered that they were stepping out for a mission, all those years ago... well in this area of the world, it's actually months, not years. Must have been one heck of a mission if it took them two and a half months to accomplish. Lee decided to join them in their walk. Having some company join him on his walk would be nice. When he was within distance, Kakashi looked to his side and immediately spotted him. The silver-haired jonin didn't see a forehead protector on the young man, and didn't recognize his appearance at all.

"Hello there," Kakashi greeted. "Are you a traveler?"

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, looked to where their sensei was turned to and saw a young man, probably not far from their age gap at all. Sakura found herself blushing as she examined his physical traits. Although self-proclaiming her love for Sasuke, she couldn't help but to feel somewhat attracted to this young man. His white, leather coat showed his bare chest, which was a very appealing sight to look at. He had strong looking pectoral muscles and a rock hard looking six pack on his abdomen. His biceps also looked rather defined and very strong. His spiky hair was also an added bonus to his overall appearance. The pink-haired kunoichi found herself mentally drooling at the sight but shook it off. Her heart was for Sasuke only, but this guy easily came close to her fantasies about the raven-haired teen that she probably could never have but believed that she could some day. Naruto walked up to the stranger.

"Hey, my name is-"

"Naruto, I know your name my friend," he said.

"Huh? But how? This is the first time we've ever met," the blond curiously replied. The young man gave out a faint chuckle and looked back to Naruto. He couldn't believe that Naruto and the rest of squad seven were unable to recognize who he really was.

"Have I really changed that much?" he asked.

"Um... what?" asked Naruto.

"It's me, Naruto, it's Rock Lee," he said. Sakura's eyes widened and gasped in internal horror as well as shock. The last time she saw Lee was two and a half months ago, yet this one didn't look anything like him. Didn't Lee wear an odd spandex, had thick eyebrows, and a lame looking bowl-cut hair style? Her eyes swerved back to his six pack. For some reason, she had the urge to touch it. Even Kakashi was surprised at Lee's sudden change in appearance, but that wasn't what shocked him the most. He could feel Lee's fighting spirit had gotten a lot stronger than what it used to be. It was as if he had gone through years of training in so little time. Sasuke's fists were shaking in new found anger. He had heard of stories about a taijutsu prodigy that graduated from the academy, but he didn't know it would be someone with so much power literally radiating from his body. Lee raised his eyebrows at them.

"Are you guys alright? You're staring at me like I'm some sort of monster," he said. Kakashi shook his head from the thoughts. It's impossible that someone could get so strong in such a small amount of time. But that's a question for another time. As for now, why or how was he outside the village border? Genin aren't allowed outside of the village without some sort of mission and even with a mission, genin aren't allowed by themselves, outside, without their jonin instructor. What could Gai be thinking, allowing his student to be out of the village like this? Or maybe Gai is somewhere nearby...

"Lee, is Gai with you?" he asked. Lee shook his head. "Then how is it that you are outside of the village borders? Genin aren't allowed outside of the village without their jonin instructors or without a suitable shinobi to protect them. We are are still technically in the fire country, but many things can happen out here that genin aren't properly trained for yet."

"Believe me, sensei, I can handle myself," Lee assured them. He was about to continue the conversation when he remembered something that Kakashi had just mentioned. He wanted to see Gai-sensei again. He also remembered that something bad is supposed to happen really soon and he wanted to be in the village when such an incident occurred. "Well, I'd like to stay and chat but something else came to mind. I'll meet you all back in the village."

With that, he turned away and vanished in a swirl of leaves. Kakashi was once more surprised. Lee was no where to be seen. Genin don't possess that kind of speed or teleportation ability. It was as if his energy had just vanished along with his body. Could it be that he had really gotten stronger in such a small amount of time? Can such a feat really be possible? Kakashi sighed and reopened his orange book. He would have to question Gai about his training methods when they arrived in the village. He could go there now, but his students weren't trained to remain outside the village without proper tutelage. At least the walk to the village isn't that long anymore. They were already within the borders anyway. Another hour or two of walking and the village will be in plain view. When Lee arrived near the village gates, the shinobi that were stationed on guard immediately saw him. He didn't have a forehead protector on him, so was he just a passersby? Lee looked to Genma and pulled out his forehead protector from his bag.

"My name is Rock Lee and I know I've been away for a while but I've returned home. I wish an audience with the Hokage and Mito Gai," he said. Genma looked to his partner, Raido. It's true that Lee had been missing for two months, but the Hokage proclaimed him to be dead. And now, this young man pops out of no where, claiming to be him? He didn't want to believe it, but only Mito Gai and Rock Lee carried forehead protectors with red cloths instead of dark blue. Then again, there's the chance that he could have stolen it from the body of the actual Lee, as this one looked nothing like the pupil that Gai adored like his own son. Raido nodded to Genma, who turned back to face the stranger.

"Fine, your request will be granted. But my partner Raido, will accompany you to the Hokage's tower. Our leader will decide if you are who you say you are," he said as the gates to the village opened. Lee nodded and walked side by side with the shinobi with the odd scar on his face. Tenten, Hinata, and Ino, were having a day for girls only, when they saw the gates opening. They rushed to see who was entering the village and couldn't believe it. There was Raido, one of the entrance guards, but someone was with him... someone very physically appealing. He was a young man, in a very attractive attire that exposed half of his muscular body, had spiky black hair, and the most confident pair of eyes that they had ever seen.

"Dear God... he's so hot..." said Ino. "Who is that?"

"I don't know, but I really want to touch his packs," said Tenten, trying to recover from her childish reaction over the young man that she had never met in her life. Although she had also pledged herself to Sasuke alone, she didn't mind losing him for this new guy. He felt so powerful too, which was an added bonus. Hinata found herself blushing at the amount of cleavage that this young man was showing to her two friends and herself. Something about him seemed oddly familiar though, but she couldn't place it. She examined his chakra network with her byakugan but found it it be completely different from anything that she'd ever seen before. But he definitely reminded her of someone. She just couldn't place her finger on it. Lee caught glimpse of them and bowed.

"Hello," he greeted politely.

"Hello to you too," said Tenten, blushing. "What's your name?"

"Have you forgotten me too?" he replied. Tenten raised an eyebrow. "It's me, Rock Lee."

"...what...?" she asked, dreamy expression changing to a longing one. "That's impossible. Lee has been dead for two and a half months. You can't just claim to be him. You don't even look anything like him."

"Well, at least your reaction is a little livelier than Sakura's when I met up with her and the rest of squad seven. I guess my friends don't remember me after all, but I suppose it's my own fault for disappearing from your lives for so long. I apologize, Tenten," he said as he continued his walk. "It's also very nice to see you again, Ino and Hinata."

"Wait, where are you going?" asked Tenten. Lee didn't even stop his walk but replied anyway.

"I'm going to visit the Hokage and tell him where I've been. You three should come and join me, I can use a bit of company," he said. Hinata narrowed her eyes and activated her byakugan again, checking to see if there was something about him that she had failed to catch the first time.

"He knows our names. Can it really be him?" asked Ino. "But I thought he died in a mission. That's what you guys said, right?"

"I don't know anymore," said Tenten. "Not only by the mere fact that he knows our names but it's the aura that I sense from him. He's different, stronger, faster, smarter than the Lee we used to know but I do believe that he is who he says he is. It's the way he looked at me, that's how I know." Hinata nodded.

"I agree with Tenten, it's the way he looked at us that forces me to agree with what he says. I really think he is Lee, but he has changed somewhat. The aura resonating from his body is radiating with incredible power, nothing like I've ever felt before, but it's different. It's calm and soothing," she said. "I don't know where he's been but, he's changed. He's become more defined and much more different that he used to be."

"Alright. And we should tell the others," said Ino. "If Lee is really back, they'll all want to know what he's been up to, especially Gai-sensei."

"Yes, Gai-sensei will truly wish to know where his star pupil has been. He was never the same after Lee's disappearance. But now that he's returned, Gai-sensei will surely revert to his cheerful self," said Tenten, full of hope. "And Neji would be happy to see him again. Neji has been blaming himself for Lee's death, a few weeks after it happened."

"I understand," said Hinata as she looked to her friends. "Then we should split up and tell our respective squads. I'm aware that Naruto's squad has been out of the village a little bit after Gai-sensei's team departed for their mission, two and a half months ago, but they should be returning soon. They don't know what happened to Lee and it's probably best that we tell them too. I'm sure Kakashi-sensei will be able to sense Lee's aura and will start to question some things."

"I bet you're right, Hinata," Tenten agreed. "Ok, he said he'll be visiting the Hokage. Let's go with Hinata's idea and tell everyone about Lee's arrival and meet back at the Hokage's tower."

The two other girls nodded as the three of them leaped into three separate directions, jumping from roof to roof, searching for their own squads. Tenten smiled at herself, feeling somewhat relieved that her teammate had returned. Maybe Gai-sensei will stop being gloomy about everything when he sees his old pupil back with him. The weapons master wondered where Lee had been for the past two months and why his aura was resonating such strange bolts of unreal energy. It was as if he fell from the sky, a god of sorts, in the shape of a human being. But such a thing can't be possible. He was probably just training somewhere, but why did he not return to the village? He caused so much worry and panic to the people he was trying to prove everything to. There were search parties consisting of elite ANBU units and they never found him. They said that they scoured the entire fire country and didn't even find one shred of evidence that would lead to Lee. Wherever he went, it had to have been far enough to elude even the ANBU squads. Tenten shook her head at the thought. Lee would never run away from his home, or run from anything for that matter. He would drag himself back to the village even if he didn't have the strength to anymore. So there must be a good reason as to why he disappeared for two and a half months and only returned now.

When she reached the Hyuuga compound, she found Neji practicing his jyuuken stance. She knew that it would be unwise to disrupt him during his practice, but this is about his long lost friend, so Neji surely wouldn't mind. When she approached him, he instantly caught sight of her, as he was using his byakugan as well. He stopped his training and pushed his anger down. He told Tenten hundreds of times to not bother him while he was training, it was one of the things that he hated from everyone. Why is it that he couldn't get any peace and quiet in his own home? He sighed and looked to his comrade, partly wishing to know what had gone inside her mind that was a good enough reason to disturb his precious training. He hoped it was good, unlike the last time where she came by to tell him that Gai-sensei was out on a mission again. That's been a pretty regular thing ever since Lee's death. Why did that idiot have to die and change everyone's lives? There's so many people in the village who were affected by his death and so many of their lives were changed since that unfortunate accident. The kunoichi and the shinobi responsible were locked in jail, serving a lifetime penalty for being caught slaying a leaf village genin. Tenten approached him and seemed to be quite out of breath.

"Neji... you have to hurry. Come with me... to the Hokage's tower," she panted. Neji placed his hands on his hips, obviously annoyed.

"And why, pray tell, should I do that and forgo my training? You know how important it is to me to increase my skills as a shi-" at that moment, he was interrupted. This better be good enough to quell the popping vein of irritation that had appeared on his forehead.

"It's about Lee, he's come back!" she shouted, placing all of her breath on the last three words. Neji's eyes widened and sped passed her. This was the first news since his disappearance and was probably worth checking out. Tenten wasn't the type to joke around either, so whatever she says is usually worth taking a look at. When Neji exited the Hyuuga mansion, he took to the roof, leaping from one area to another with Tenten closely behind him. Gai-sensei left for a mission with Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei a few days ago, so they won't be able to witness this. But they might be back soon. Neji increased his speed even further and quickly arrived to the Hokage's tower, where he found Shino, Kiba, and Hinata, already there, as well as Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji. Kiba looked to the Hyuuga prodigy.

"Oh, so you heard the news too huh?" he asked. Neji nodded. "I'm a little curious as to where he's been all this time and how he eluded the ANBU squads that were looking for him."

"I wish to know that too and why he didn't return to the village sooner," said Neji, looking atop the Hokage's tower, anxiously awaiting for his friend to return. He assumed that Lee would already be in there, speaking to the Hokage like Tenten said he would. Plus, the others here doesn't seem to have seen him, or else he'd still be here, catching up on lost times. Neji sighed and waited for his friend to return.

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"... And that's my story," said Lee.

Sarutobi, who was smoking his pipe when the boy entered, had dropped it on his desk. According to the young man, when he fell from the cliff, he landed in a large body of flowing water and was taken somewhere to a very distant land, where shinobi don't dwell in. He said that he had also received amnesia from hitting his head while unconsciously drifting through rocks and boulders that were probably waiting for him along the river rapids. He also said that he was taken in by a peaceful family until he regained his memory and was able to return to the village. But the one thing he couldn't get out of his mind was how different the boy looked. When he left for his B rank mission with his squad, two and a half months ago, his appearance resembled that of his very own sensei. However, he was now different in terms of physical appearance. He looked stronger, more defined, as if he had gone through hell on earth and survived to tell the tale. And it didn't seem like he was someone on genjutsu either, or else the Hokage would be able to tell easily. And plus, he was able to give the old man substantial information about his own back ground and life in the leaf village. Sarutobi picked up his pipe and placed it back in his mouth. He pulled out the documents about Lee and returned it to him, as well as signing more documents that reinstated his rank as a shinobi of the hidden leaf village.

"Thank you, lord Hokage," said Lee.

"It's good to have you back, Lee. Your jonin instructor is out on a mission with two others and won't be back for a couple of days. But when he returns, I'll see to it myself that he learns of your arrival," said the old man. Lee nodded politely and bid him farewell. Sarutobi slouched on his chair and walked Lee walk out of his door. He wondered how the rest of the village would react to Lee's sudden arrival, and at a good timing too. He was just in time for something very important that only comes once per year. How he got the timing down was unheard of, but it is fortunate that he's here anyway. Once the three other jonin return from their mission, said event would commence. The old Hokage only hoped that Lee's new found power is enough for what is ahead of him.

When Lee exited the Hokage's room, he looked over his papers. Each of them were signed by the Hokage himself and at the end, there was a large stamp in black ink that said "diseased." Lee's eyebrows twitched when he saw that. So the village actually thought that he was dead, huh? Well, what a big surprise they'll be in for when they realize that their village flunky is back and stronger than ever. Upon walking out of the Hokage's tower, the Iron Monkey caught a glimpse of his friends, the other genin, down there, waiting for him. Lee sighed to himself. Explaining a bunch of lies to them would be a huge pain. He would tell them the truth in their expressions. When he finished walking down the stairs, he eyed them all, taking note to explain where he'd been... to a certain degree.

"Hey guys," he started, waving his hand to them. They all looked at him with bewildered expressions. The very person they once thought of as dead and away from their world, is finally back, in arms reach. So why could they not move? Many of the girls blushed at Lee's new physical appearance. The males, save one, wondered where he'd been and how much stronger he'd become. Neji was now laying eyes on the friend... the brother, that he never had in his family. The first person to ever treat him as a normal person and not as someone of the branch side of the Hyuuga clan. There he was, Rock Lee in all his glory. He had changed, grown stronger probably, and was over all different. Lee looked at them all and deduced that none of them could find the strength to speak to him. Understandable, he had been gone for a while after all. Lee inwardly sighed to himself and began speaking instead.

"Okay... seeing as though you guys aren't talking at the moment, I suppose I should start. I'm going to explain where I've been and why I didn't return sooner. I assure you all that I actually have very good and believable reasons," he said. He felt bad about having to lie to his friends, but he would tell them all in due time, when everything else was straightened out. He wondered how they would take the news of his periodical disappearance. They'd probably have a lot of questions, but then again, he probably owed it to them to answer all of the questions that they might have been planning for him. He would try to cover everything so as to give his friends some sort of idea as to where he's been. "First of all, when I--"

"Forget it man, we don't want to know where you've been or why you decided to pop out here now of all times and not sooner," said Kiba, allowing Akamaru to jump down from his jacket. He looked to Shino and Neji, who both nodded to him. "We want to know how much stronger you've gotten while you've been away. You can tell your story to the girls. Some of us actually want to know if you're still as sharp as you were back then."

Lee smiled and placed his sack and papers down. He placed his sack above the documents so they wouldn't fly off from the action that was about to take place. He took a head count of how many there were at the moment. There's Neji, Shikamaru, Shino, Tenten, Hinata, Ino, Kiba, and Choji. He chose to keep his staff in its secured location, not wanting to give his friends a terrible disadvantage. If there was anything that Hirameki taught him, it was the absolute mastery of many choices of weaponry, especially the staff, the primary weapon of the Iron Monkey. He wondered if his friends got any stronger as well. He slipped into a personal fighting stance that he and his father worked on together. It was a mix of his own fighting style, along with the unstoppable stance of the Iron Monkey. The new stance looked relatively unfamiliar to the other genin, just as Lee had hoped. Of course none of them would have known the secret fighting stances of his clan, because his clan's name was removed from the world a long time ago, at least according to his father. Before someone was able to step in, Neji and Tenten stepped forward in front of them all, apparently thinking the same thing.

"I'm sorry guys, but I think it's best that we fight him," said Tenten, getting her weapons ready. Neji nodded and formed his casual jyuuken fighting stance.

The other genin, especially Kiba, remained silent and backed away, giving the three the space that they needed to have a proper combat. Neji started with a flurry of gentle fist attacks while Tenten readied her newest technique. Neji winced, not in pain, but in surprise. Lee was dodging every attack that was being thrown at him. He noticed Lee looking up, probably watching Tenten perform her jutsu. The spiky-haired shinobi blocked Neji's attacks with one hand, not even looking at him. He stomped at the ground below, pushing a large boulder to the air. He glanced to Neji for a quick second, caught his wrists with one hand and drove a foot into the Hyuuga's abdomen. Neji's eyes widened at the massive surge of pain as he was sent back several feet. Lee then gave his attention to Tenten, who had launched an innumerable amount of weapons of every shape, at him. Lee kicked the boulder to his comrade, causing all weapons to hit the large chunk of gravel. Tenten quickly flipped her body backwards, performing a sommersault to avoid the boulder. She landed on the ground in shock.

The other genin watched as Lee was single-handedly thrashing his two comrades. Hinata looked to her cousin, Neji. Never had she seen him in such a beaten state. She always thought of her cousin as an unstoppable wrecking machine. But here he was, on his knees, trying to stand with his hand on his stomach. The young heiress moved her eyes to Lee. His eyes were moving from one opponent to another but there was something different. It wasn't his new stance or anything like that. It was the look in his eyes. The look in his eyes seemed like a courageous lion, roaring into the night. There was so much confidence, so much improvement in his fighting spirit. His legs weren't quivering, but strong like steel. His fists weren't shaking, but gripped tightly yet softly. His eyes weren't that of a scared individual, but the eyes of one who left his village a boy and returned a man. Lee looked to the ground and grinned, picking up a staff that Tenten threw as a part of her odd jutsu. He twirled it around masterfully, attracting Tenten's attention.

"That's how you want to play, huh?" she asked as she stood up and pulled out a staff of her own. Both shinobi and kunoichi ran to each other, exchanging a flurry of quick but accurate blows. Tenten aimed to stab Lee in the face with the tip of her staff but Lee blocked with such precision that Tenten's attack was stopped, using the narrow body of his staff. The stabbing motion, added with a guard, caused a chain reaction. The bottom of Lee's staff was propelled upwards, hitting Tenten's knee with as much force as she placed into her stabbing attack. She bent her knee to strengthen it, causing less damage on her bone. Lee quickly stabbed her in the abdomen, causing her to lose grip of her staff and clutched her stomach in pain. After which, Lee swept his staff down her feet, sweeping her off balance. Her body landed on his foot as he picked her up lightly with it, tossing her to Neji, who caught her out of instinct. The kunoichi looked to her partner.

"Tag... you're it," she said. Neji nodded and set her down. He quickly slipped into his family's jyuuken style stance and also activated his byakugan. But something was a bit different about his stance that no one else knew, except for Hinata. She was surprised that Neji would use that technique, much less even knowing it. Hyuugas weren't supposed to be taught that until they were a little older and had a more advanced chakra control. She always knew that Neji was the prodigy of her clan, but now she was more sure of it than ever.

"Eight trigrams, 64 palm!" Neji shouted as he began his assault on Lee. To the Iron Monkey, Neji's attacks were coming in at slow motion, but he allowed it to happen. He figured that this would be a great way to test out his muscle mimic ability. Lee stood still, taking it all in. He felt certain points of his body being locked and found himself unable to move through it all. When it ended, Lee was still standing but felt very numb, an odd feeling that he had never felt before. Neji sighed, hoping this new Lee would be able to dodge such an assault but was proven wrong. He looked to his comrade with confident eyes.

"I have just sealed your tenketsu points, which are certain areas of your body that allow you to move and produce chakra. But someone such as yourself who is incapable of performing jutsu, has no need for chakra anyway. But you probably feel weakened by now so I believe my efforts weren't in vain," he said. Lee smirked, already feeling those areas of his body, which were closed before, beginning to reopen due to his healing ability. When everything was healed and back in order, he felt a surge of power, coursing through his veins. In addition to the increased strength and overall abilities, he felt something else, something like a shred of knowledge, going into his body. It was truly an odd feeling because knowledge is held in the mind, but this one was flowing through his body, mainly the hands.

"I've been wanting to try this out," said Lee. Neji's eyes widened and examined his chakra network again. Every point that he sealed had reopened somehow, but that wasn't what was shocking him to the core. Lee slipped into the jyuuken stance, the stance known only to the Hyuuga clan. "Eight trigrams, 64 palm!"

Lee shouted his attack. Neji was about to dodge but Lee vanished into thin air. The taijutsu master appeared right in front of the Hyuuga and began his copied assault on his opponent. Every strike hit Neji's body with perfect accuracy, as if Lee had been practicing for years. Hinata couldn't believe what she was witnessing. First Lee's miraculous recovery against Neji's fiercest attack, and now he was doing it too? What in the world was going on here? How can Lee perform the same technique that Neji just used on him? When Lee finished his assault, Neji felt his body go numb and collapsed on the ground. He found that he was unable to mold chakra at all and also couldn't move an inch. It was as if all the energy in his body had been completely drained by an unknown force. The other genin looked down at Neji's defeated form, and then back to Lee. So it's true then, he really has changed after all. He had just defeated Tenten and Neji and came out of it without so much as a scratch. They thought that Neji's previous attack would have at least drawn some blood from Lee's mouth, provided what he said about his own technique is the truth. But as they saw him, it was like he didn't have a single injury on him. In fact, his aura actually grew stronger and brighter than it was before. Lee looked down at Neji.

"Pretty nifty attack you've got back there. It's a shame I won't be able to keep it. It would be very useful against other shinobi that I face in combat. Stopping chakra flow truly is a very unique technique and one that will be very handy if used on the correct opponent." he said as he stood up and looked to the other genin. "If you guys wish to fight me, I'll just take you all on because there's something I have to do that I just remembered."

No one answered.

"Okay..." he said as he picked up his sack of rations and his documents. He waved goodbye to his friends and vanished in a swirl of leaves. Hinata approached her cousin, as Ino approached her friend. Neji looked to be in bad shape but looked like would pull through. Tenten merely looked exhausted but also appeared to be out of life-threatening danger. The blond Yamanaka picked up her friend and motioned for Hinata to do the same for Neji. Both kunoichi made their way directly to the nearest hospital. As the other genin followed their two friends, Shikamaru looked at the very direction where Lee was standing, before he vanished. Lee had truly changed. Not just physical appearance, but his skills in combat were unreal. The lazy genius actually believed that this new Lee would be more than a match for them all, even if Kakashi's squad was here with them. Sasuke, who seems to be a very good shinobi, may be no match against Neji, so what more against Lee? Sakura is just... well, she's like Ino, so not much to be said there. Naruto, although a bit of a goofball, has earned the right to be called the most unpredictable shinobi in history. He might be able to pull something off, but no one can really tell for sure. Shikamaru nodded and followed his friends.

Sarutobi sat back down on his chair, after witnessing the small skirmish between Lee, Tenten, and Neji. Lee was able to defeat them like they were nothing, and those two are definitely no pushovers. Tenten comes from a family of weapon masters and is skilled with all forms of shinobi weaponry. Neji is pretty much the pride of the Hyuuga clan, although coming from the branch family. How he was defeated fairly easily by Lee is unheard of. Gai would be so proud of his pupil at his accomplishments. The old Hokage wondered if Lee was ready for what was coming up in a couple of days. But even if he is ready, it would be Gai's choice to allow him to participate in the little event that was going to take place in the leaf village. If it were up to Sarutobi, he would allow Lee to enter without a single doubt in his mind. This new Lee is definitely different from the one that walked out of the village gates, two and a half months ago. He didn't know what it was, but he knew that Lee is hiding something... something big. He decided that Lee would tell everyone when he is ready and allowed himself to let that case slip aside for the time being. He sighed an took another whiff of his pipe. This year's event will definitely be interesting to watch.

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Wow, this was a pretty long chapter, but expect my chapters to be this long or somewhere close to this length from now on. Before someone says it, yes the cave is kind of like the hyperbalic time chamber in Dragon Ball Z. And to clear out something else that may confuse someone, **the healing ability is not part of Lee's kekkei genkai. It is earned after training inside the cave for a random amount of time, it's different for everyone. **Also, **the muscle mimic isn't a part of Lee's kekkei genkai either. Only the Iron Monkey may possess it. **And one last thing, **those who pass down the spirit of the Iron Monkey to another person, do not get their abilities removed from them, except for the muscle mimic and eternal youth. Hirameki's is still capable of rapid cellular regeneration, but it has been drastically slowed to a massive degree. His kekkei genkai remains the same, however. He now lives a normal life and will age slower than other humans because of his healing ability, but will eventually die of old age. **Well, with that out of the way, I have nothing else to mention. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and chapter 4 will be coming up in a few days. I still have some work to do, chores to take care of, friends to keep up with, and blah blah blah.

Oh and I did forget to mention one other thing. The original Iron Monkey was a true god, but since he passed down his powers to another, the immortality was slightly tainted. Although a very difficult feat to achieve, the following Iron Monkies after the original, can die. The only way for the Iron Monkey to die completely is if the head is severed from the torso, much like the immortals in the movie, **Highlander**. Ok, time for me to go. See you guys in the next chapter!

Ja ne!


	4. Chapter 4

**Legend of the Iron Monkey**

**Naruto Fanfiction**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a single shred of Naruto.**

**Chapter 4: Reunited  
**

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Lee arrived in front of the the doorstep of his old apartment. To him, he hadn't been there in 10 years, and he sort of missed it. When he entered the place, thanking his lucky stars that he still remembered hiding a spare key under his door mat, it looked the same as it was before he left it, all those years ago. Lee placed his sack and documents down on a nearby table and collapsed on his bed. For the first time in years, he wasn't sleeping on dirt or leaning on some boulder to use as a pillow. He was finally home, the place that housed him and where he grew up in. He thought about what his father meant about a danger that was going to take place really soon. Being the Iron Monkey, he possessed powers that rivaled that of gods, so survival wasn't too much of an issue at the moment. He only hoped that he would be able to protect his loved ones with this new power that was bestowed upon him. The taijutsu master pulled out his retractable staff from its leather sheath. Right now, it's the size of his wrist, but it is capable of stretching to at least eight to ten feet, a good reach to use for any predicament in battle. In his hands he held the family heirloom, the staff of the first Iron Monkey.

He placed the staff back in its sheath and continued looking to his ceiling. He wondered where his father was now, and what he was doing. Since he is no longer the Iron Monkey, mortal is what he is now. He is still a great master of combat, but the mere fact that death can cast its shadow over him is just terrifying. Through the 10 years of training with him, Lee had never defeated him in a fair combat, but that's probably because of his incredible healing ability. Truthfully speaking, the moment Lee attained that part of his kekkei genkai, was the moment that even his father had troubles defeating him in a sparring match. The rapid cellular regeneration ability truly is a powerful asset. It allowed him to endure through the living hell that his father calls a training regiment. Anyone without that ability surely wouldn't have survived the training. He had to admit it though, his father knew what he was doing through it all. Without even looking, Lee grabbed a pocket knife from under his bed. He looked at it for a second and slit a small cut on his hand. It hurt a little but the wound healed immediately. He sighed to himself happily. At least he could still feel pain. That alone is enough of a reminder to himself that he was once mortal.

Speaking of which, another thing that was bugging him was the fact that he was no longer mortal. It was because of his healing ability that no longer made him mortal. His healing ability would fix his tissues and inner muscles, extending his lifespan by an indeterminable amount of time. However, death by aging is more likely to happen than death in combat or any other situation, because of his healing ability. Lee is an authentic god now, or at least a demi-god, a powerful half deity, who walks among humans. It's an odd thing to be born like one of them, and then become something beyond anyone's imagination, in a blink of an eye. Of course, it didn't happen that fast but it seemed like it did. Just a little more than 10 years ago, he was human, living a human life like everyone else. But now he is no longer mortal, but something more than just ordinary.

However, there was something about his near god-like status that his father also explained to him. Hirameki said that although his body can heal from just about every attack done on him, there is a way for him to die in one attack. If his head were to be severed from his torso, then death could be possible. But even with such a weakness, the Iron Monkies that came after the original were still considered to be as gods in human form. Within his grasp lay most of the powers of the Iron Monkey, the deity who started his clan. He wondered if he was strong enough to deal with the eventual deaths of his friends, when their time arrives. Although much older in mind and spirit, he still possessed the body of his 14 year old self. Enjoying youth isn't such a bad thing. It's not like he had anything else, but time, in his hands anyway. *** (A/N: #1 - See important P.S note below) ***

After staying another good hour in his apartment, Lee jumped out of his bed and walked out of his home. He wanted to visit the Ichiraku ramen stand to see if the ramen was still good there. Although a god, Lee was sure that he could still eat. Not for the purpose of refueling his energy, but to remind himself of his past mortality. On his way to the old ramen stand, he saw a familiar face, entering the place. He smiled as he caught a good look at the person before he entered the stand. Lee followed in right after. He sat next to him, Iruka Umino. The young academy teacher ordered his meal and noticed that he had company, but would never have guessed that it would be Gai's star pupil, Rock Lee. Iruka looked at him like he was looking at a ghost. Lee was thought to have been dead throughout the village and it affected so many people. Just like the other genin, Iruka found himself unable to speak for a while. But unlike the other genin, it didn't last long. Iruka gathered his composure and decided to strike up a conversation.

"Lee, it's true then. You really have returned. Is that really you?" he asked in disbelief. "You look so... different."

"Yeah well, absence from the village for a long time does this to you," he replied, ordering his ramen as well. Iruka's eyes traced all around his new clothing and new physical features. He never knew that Lee looked that muscular under his spandex. It was way too muscular for a 14 year old boy actually. Speaking of spandex, where did his old one go? It had been replaced by a cloth vest that stretched down to his knees, as well as a set of cloth pants and a pair of army type leather boots. On top of that, he also wore a pair of wrist guards, and has a different hair style. It was spiky and looked rather dashing on him. He didn't have those thick eyebrows anymore either. They were slimmer now and more normal looking. His eyes had changed too, no longer so large, but his pupils were the ones that changed the most. They were calm and collected, traits that Lee didn't have before.

"This is amazing Lee! Look what you've done to yourself.. what a transformation in just two and a half months!" exclaimed Iruka. "You've got to tell me how you did it."

Lee looked around him, making sure no one was around. The ramen chef and his daughter were still very busy with preparing their ramen, so they were out of the way. Lee looked out of the ramen stand and made sure no one was on their way to their location. Iruka wondered what had gotten into the boy, but deduced that whatever he was going to say, must really be so important that he'd rather not let so many pairs of ears listen to what he had to say. The academy teacher understood though. Wherever Lee has been or whatever Lee has been through, must have been so important that he didn't return to the village until now. What could it be that he was doing in the outside world? Was he even still in the fire country borders? How in the world did he elude the ANBU search teams that were sent to scour the fire country and other borders, just to find him? When Lee was finished taking a look at everything, he glanced back to Iruka. Just as he was about to divulge his information, Teuchi, the ramen chef, delivered their meals and stood before them. Lee looked to him and paid for his meal, as well as Iruka's.

"Hey um... think you could give us a bit of privacy?" he asked. Iruka looked to the ramen chef and then back to Lee. Now he really had to know. Teuchi took the payment and led his daughter and himself to the back of the house, allowing the privacy that Lee asked for. When they left, Lee turned back to Iruka.

"Alright, what I'm going to tell you doesn't escape your lips. Okay?" he asked. Iruka nodded. "I haven't told anyone what I'm about to tell you because it's dangerous for them to know but I feel as though I have to tell someone and I believe I can trust you with this vital piece of information."

Iruka nodded as he started on his ramen. Lee did the same. When his mouth was no longer full, he continued speaking.

"Hmm... good ramen. But anyway, I told the other genin, even the Hokage, that I had amnesia for a while until my memories returned to me, which allowed for my return to the village. But that is not true. What really happened is, when I fell from that cliff that you probably heard about from my squad, I fell down a river with powerful currents. The currents were so strong that it pushed me to a boulder, which knocked me unconscious. When I woke up, I was in this cave with a white blanket on top of me. I failed to notice it before, but I remember now that the blanket had some sort of mark on it. It was a fist with a monkey's head on it."

"The... Hana... zawa... clan," said Iruka, choking on his noodles. Lee's eyes widened.

"Yeah, how did you know about that clan? I thought they were extinct," said Lee. Iruka nodded and gathered his composure for the second time.

"They are. My parents told me about them when I was still just a boy and it was my favorite set of tales. They told me that the Hanazawa clan was a clan of master taijutsu users. They were like you actually, they can't use ninjutsu and genjutsu, but made up for it with an incredible kekkei genkai," said Iruka. Lee nodded and urged for him to continue. "Their kekkei genkai is a passive one. Whenever they healed from any wound, instead of a scar being left on their bodies, the energy used to harm them would come back to them as strength. It was a dangerous kekkei genkai, and one that people thought would change the clan into juggernauts with incredible power. So they were killed, all of them."

"But they were incredibly talented shinobi, weren't they? In addition, they can heal from wounds instantly, along with the ability to get stronger and stronger every time they heal. So who would be able to kill shinobi like that?" asked Lee.

"Quick healing? The Hanazawa clan didn't have that. From my knowledge, they only had one kekkei genkai with one effect, not two. If they could heal as you said they could, there's no way they could have been wiped out by one man," he said. Lee looked away for a bit. That's how his clan was destroyed. They didn't train in the cave of the Iron Monkey, therefore couldn't unlock the ability that he possessed, the ability of rapid cellular regeneration. Lee looked back to his former teacher and urged him to continue his story.

"What else do you know about that clan?" he asked.

"I can't remember for sure, and even now I can't believe what it was that my parents told me. It was like the Uchiha clan massacre. One man was responsible for it, one man who's power rivaled that of gods. It's only really a legend but my parents said that the man's family was captured and an organization made a deal with him. He was to slay his entire clan for the safety of his family. The man was reluctant, but agreed. He took down his clan like a sword tearing through a sheet of wet paper. Even the strongest of the Hanazawa clan was no match for his god-like fury. After the task was done, his family was returned to him, but they double crossed him. One of their assassins pulled out a sword and cut the stomach of the woman, who was pregnant with a child."

"The man who had slain his clan, was furious. So he took his wife and stormed out of the village. He took his wife to a safe place where she gave birth to a baby boy, but died through blood loss and exhaustion. It was said that the man left his son in one of the five shinobi villages. He then returned to the village of assassins and exterminated them all. He was never heard of since then," said Iruka, finishing his story and his ramen. Lee nodded at the accuracy of his old teacher's story. It was pretty much exactly the way Hirameki told him. Now Lee was certain that Iruka would be the only one he could trust with this new information of his.

"Iruka-sensei, please hand me a kunai," he said.

"Uh... why?"

"Trust me," said Lee. Iruka shrugged his shoulders and reached for a kunai in his holster. He handed it to Lee, who took it with one hand. He stretched out his arm and sliced a very large wound on it. Iruka was about to panic when he noticed something. Almost as quickly as the wound was created, it started to close. As the flesh closed, the blood reentered the body, which was a very frightening sight for the man. When the wound had finished healing, Iruka looked to his former student.

"Lee.. what the..?" he asked, stuttering due to a loss of words.

"Remember when you told me about that man who slew his entire clan to save his family? I met him," he said. Iruka, for a moment, found himself unable to speak, as if his voice was deprived of him by an unknown force. "I met him, and he trained me for 10 years in an odd cave. You see, one year in that cave is one week in the outside world. He trained me and passed down his power to me, the spirit of the Iron Monkey."

"The... what?" asked Iruka, finally finding the strength to speak.

"The Iron Monkey is a deity, a god who started my clan. Oh and, by the way, the Hanazawa clan is not extinct. The man who slew his clan, is my father," said Lee. Iruka's mouth hit rock bottom. First there was this Iron Monkey thing about gods and deities, now there was this thing about Lee being the long lost son of an extinct clan? "I know you're about to ask me this so I figure I shouldn't hide it from you. The village gave me the name of Rock Lee. But the name that my biological parents gave me is, Kira Hanazawa."

"Kira... Ha-Hanazawa?"

"Yeah. And regarding the thing about my father being the Iron Monkey, I told you he passed his powers down to me, right?" he asked. Iruka slowly nodded. "Well, that healing ability that you saw is something I earned by training in that odd cave for several years, the cave where the first Iron Monkey lived in. The second one allows me to mimic any technique that my opponent uses against me. But that knowledge only stays with me for one shot. After that, it's like I my body forgets how to do it."

"So... let me get this straight. As a member of the Hanazawa clan, you possess their kekkei genkai which allows you to become stronger after you heal from any wound. Then now that you're this Iron Monkey god thing, you heal quickly, which activates your kekkei genkai, making you stronger, and you are able to mimic any technique used against you, once? And on top of that, since you're a deity, you're probably immortal. Do I have it about right?" asked Iruka. Instead of nodding, Lee waved his head from side to side.

"Well, actually, I'm not really immortal. But the people of the Hanazawa clan often regarded the Iron Monkey as their god. According to my father, the original Iron Monkey was a true deity, incapable of dying. All of my ancestors who received the powers of the Iron Monkey, became very powerful, but never became immortal. My father also mentioned that the original Iron Monkey purposely tweaked his immortality so that those who came after him and received his power, wouldn't gain too much power. I'm more of a demi-god, as there are ways for me to die, but it's all very difficult to accomplish by normal people, or by normal standards. Atop from that, I still age, you know, just a lot slower than other people do," said Lee, trying to read the facial expressions of his former teacher. "But I take it you're not alright, are you...?"

"Alright? I'm farthest from alright. You are the strongest being who walks the earth right now. You heal almost instantly from whatever wound caused on you and you get stronger because of it. No human should ever be bestowed that much power, it's unreal!" he exclaimed. "And to top if all off, you're a demi-god? Because of your healing ability, you get to cheat death countless times. Do you know how mad the shinigami will be at you? The very thought that his arms will be hard to reach you will make him agitated."

"I think you really do need to lay down, Iruka-sensei," said Lee. Iruka nodded and stood from his seat. He was about to leave the ramen stand, when he turned to face the Iron Monkey. He smiled at him.

"But for what it's worth, I'm glad you've returned to us. And your secret is safe with me, you have my word on that," he said as he turned away and left. Lee sighed to himself and easily downed his ramen, not having the time to enjoy it as he had so many things he had to do. As he was about to leave as well, Iruka popped back inside. "Oh yeah, I remember what I was going to tell you. The shinobi and kunoichi who were the cause of your disappearance, are being held in the jail cell where all the other criminals of this village reside. If you speak to the Hokage, surely he'd let you in. You might find some interesting information from them."

Lee nodded gratefully as his former teacher leaped away. Perhaps he really can find some information from those two bozos that caused him to leave the village. Actually, it wasn't really such a bad thing. If not for them, he would never have been able to meet his father and learned of the history of their long deceased clan. Lee exited the ramen stand and took to the roofs of the leaf village, making his way to the Hokage's tower. He had to find out a few things, especially who this man was in another village that wanted him alive. He increased his speed and made his way to the tower. When he arrived, he knocked on the door and heard a voice inside, allowing him to enter. The old Hokage was still smoking his pipe and signing some documents. Sarutobi looked to him and placed his documents aside.

"Hello Lee, what can I do for you?" he asked, crossing his fingers to himself.

"I need access to the jail cell of the leaf village. I need an audience with the shinobi and kunoichi who were captured on the day of my disappearance," he said. The Hokage nodded and gave Lee some sort of patch that would allow him inside.

"Show this patch to the guards and they'll let you in. I figured it wouldn't take long for you to ask me that question. I suppose you really would want answers from those who tried to kill you, eh?" asked the old Hokage. Lee nodded and vanished in a swirl of leaves. The Iron Monkey fazed in and out of human vision. He was moving at a speed where you'd need the sharingan or byakugan to see him properly and still he could go so much faster. Training in the cave of the Iron Monkey really did do wonders for his physical abilities. Lee could no longer feel any strain on his legs, as his healing ability took care of that. When he arrived at the entrance of the prison house, four chunin guards stopped him. Lee showed them his patch and they allowed him right in.

"My name is Rock Lee, and I wish to see the shinobi and kunoichi who were captured two and a half months ago, who were responsible for my disappearance," he said. One of the guards nodded and went to retrieve the people that Lee was talking about. Another guard led Lee to a table with three seats surrounding it, no doubt for him and the two people he wanted to see. When Lee sat down, the two chunin guards returned to their stations while the third remained with him, probably to make sure nothing happens to the prisoners or the visitor. Lee took a look around him and examined the place. It looked like an ordinary prison. The walls seemed to be made of bricks that were painted gray, a very dull color. There were other shinobi that were stationed around the place, probably to keep order. It all looked pretty tight and secure so there should be no worries. He was about to do a bit more sightseeing, when the chunin from earlier returned with two people, resembling very familiar faces. They both wore the standard prison clothes and had quite the unruly set of hair but besides that, they didn't look too bad. Both people sat down as the chunin stood next to the other shinobi who was keeping watch.

"Hey, remember me?" asked Lee.

"Are we supposed to?" asked the male shinobi.

"It's me, Rock Lee, the guy you two were trying to bring to someone in your village for some bounty," he replied. The two thought about it for a while before nodding a couple of times to him, signaling that they did indeed remember.

"So it's you then, isn't it?" asked the kunoichi. "I knew a fall like that couldn't possibly kill someone of the Hanazawa clan."

"Alright, how do you know my clan?" asked Lee.

"Only myths, legends, and campfire stories actually. Well, I suppose since we're probably going to rot in this prison, we might as well tell you what's on our minds, right?" asked the shinobi. Lee nodded and calmed himself. "We were sent by an odd looking fellow from the cloud village. I'm not sure if he's a resident of said village, nor do I really care. He had long black hair and a very pale face. His eyes also looked like that of a reptile... a snake if you will."

"Snake?" asked Lee, remembering something that his father told him. Perhaps this snake was the danger that his father had warned him about, while he was still training in the cave of the Iron Monkey. Could he really be so dangerous for even a god to fear?

"Yes, snake. He told us to bring you to him, alive if possible, and would pay a large sum of money if you were still breathing in his presence. I didn't catch his name, nor did he wish to reveal it. Normally, we assassins like to know who we're working for but when he promised us so much money for your retrieval, we didn't question anything else," said the kunoichi. It was then that the male shinobi interrupted. "It's been two and a half months now and he's probably learned of our failure. He didn't seem like the type to stay in one place, so he's probably gone from the cloud village by now. I don't know where he went but I'd say you should be careful should you ever come across him. When I felt his aura... it was very inhumane. Your aura feels about the same but there is goodness inside your soul, unlike his. His soul is filled with treachery and deceit, unlike anything I've ever felt before."

"Do you believe there's a chance that he would still be coming after me?" Lee inquired. "I mean, if you two knew that I was never dead, would there be a chance that he thought of that same idea too?"

"That's possible. And since he seems to be the kind of person to get what he wants. He's probably on his way here now to finish what we couldn't," said the shinobi. "That being said, you should watch out for yourself. The aura that you are resonating, feels much stronger than it used to be when we last met. But still, you must be careful around this snake man. Long black hair, a pale face, and snake-like eyes is the only thing we know about his physical appearance. You should check with your Hokage. He's an old man and would probably have heard of someone with similar traits during his very long life."

"I see. I'll do that when we finish here. Is there anything else you can tell me about this danger?" he asked. The kunoichi rolled her eyes in all directions, wondering if she forgot to mention anything regarding what the lad was asking about. When she remembered something, she looked to him again.

"I remember that this snake man always had a bunch of lackies with him, but he has one main one, as if a right hand man of sorts. He has silver hair and wears a pair of round-rim glasses. He doesn't look as bad as the snake man but his intentions are almost as evil. He isn't as powerful either, you could probably take him down, but I'm aware that you're a genin and you genin are supposed to be traveling with two other genin and a jonin sensei in your squad. If you can survive a fall like you did two months ago, you should do fine against this guy, but I advise you to watch for your friends. I don't think they're in the same league as this silver haired guy. Unfortunately, he didn't say his name either," she said. Lee nodded, considering to keep that piece of information in his head for the future. When he gathered enough information, he stood up from his seat, the two followed suit.

"Thank you both for the information, it's been very interesting to learn about the one who is after me. I don't know his name but you're right, the Hokage might know a thing or two about him. If I have anything else I need to know, I'll come back here. And maybe, once all this is over, I'll try to get you two freed," he said. The shinobi narrowed his eyes for a second and returned them to normal afterward.

"Why would you do that? We tried to kill you," he said.

"True, but it was nothing personal. You were hired to do so, therefore, you have nothing against me. You were just doing your job and I understand that. Although you did indeed try to kill me, it wasn't out of spite or hatred. You two are just simple assassins trying to make a living from bounty. Besides, you don't seem too bad. Maybe we can be friends in the future," Lee replied. The shinobi and the kunoichi smiled. "By the way, what are your names?"

"My name is Kisuke," said the shinobi.

"And I'm Yukina," said the kunoichi. Lee nodded at their introductions and walked away. The guards who took them before, walked them back inside the prison. When Lee left the prison, he made his way back to the Hokage's tower where he may find some answers. Sarutobi is an old man and should be able to tell him about the snake man or at least his right hand man. On his way to the tower, his peripheral vision caught Naruto and Sakura along with three little kids, probably playing around. He shrugged his shoulders, telling himself that it's probably nothing to worry about. He didn't know that squad seven were such fast walkers. He could have sworn that he left them behind another day or so of traveling, but deduced that it was probably just his imagination. He was about to proceed when one of the children bumped into a black-clad person with odd face paint and some blond chick that looked to be almost the same age. He was carrying something that looked pretty heavy on his back. He picked up the kid by the scarf that was tied around his neck and lifted him up, causing a bit of pain on the little boy.

"That's not good," Lee said to himself as he rushed to the scene. But before he got anywhere near them, Naruto rushed to the guy in black, screaming like an idiot. Lee wondered where Naruto's brain had gone. You don't just charge into anyone like that. What if there's a trap? What if there's-- and there it was... he tripped on something. The young Iron Monkey looked down on Naruto's foot and saw an nearly invisible wire, which is what he probably tripped on. When he looked up, Sasuke was there too, about to throw a rock to stop the bully and drop the child, but that's not what Lee was looking at. Being granted the powers of the Iron Monkey sort of cleared his five senses and somewhat enhanced them a bit. Lee noticed several fragments of sand forming together. After Sasuke threw the rock, successfully saving the child, the other shinobi looked at him, massaging his wrist.

"That was really flashy... what a little show off..." Lee commented, rolling his eyes to the side. Sure it looked kind of cool but he didn't have to over do it. When the black-clad shinobi was angered and about to attack, a voice stopped him easily. Lee looked a bit left of Sasuke and saw a figure with red hair, standing upside down from a tree branch. It must have been that sand from earlier that was gathering. So, a shinobi from the sand village hmm? The Iron Monkey smiled slightly as the red-head dematerialized from the tree and rematerialized next to the other two, in a gust of sand. Not a bad technique at all. He's definitely someone to watch over. But why were sand shinobi in the leaf village? The leaf and the sand are allies but no shinobi is allowed in another village unless in a mission or with some kind of clarification. As the three shinobi turned to leave, Naruto started barking his usual outburst. Lee slapped his forehead with his palm in embarrassment. Was Naruto trying to make the village look bad?

"Hey, no one turns their backs on me!" he said, reeling up his sleeves and pointed at the one with the enormous thing on his back with mummy-like wrappings on it. "You were hurting Konohamaru and I'm not going to let you turn your back until you apologize!"

When Naruto finished his exclamation, he pulled off another charge at the sand shinobi with the face paint. Lee sighed to himself. Naruto always was the jump-the-gun type of person. He acts without thinking... a fatal flaw in any shinobi. Lee shrugged to himself and fazed out of existence and appeared right behind Naruto, holding him back using the collar of his jacket. The spiky haired young man pulled him back to the others and shook his head in disappointment. Even though Naruto had earned his reputation as the clumsiest shinobi in the history of the leaf village, surely he would know when to attack and when to stand down. But due to this display of embarrassment, apparently not. Lee turned around to face the sand shinobi, not liking the vibe that he was getting from the red-headed one. The other two seemed strong as well, but nothing compared to the shorter one.

"Hey, what's all the ruckus going on?" he asked, primarily looking into the green eyes of the red-headed sand shinobi. Said shinobi gazed into Lee's eyes as well, trying to figure him out. Sasuke seemed rather curious at how Lee appeared from no where and stopped Naruto. He couldn't even sense him and there he was.

'He was very far from us... I saw him peeking into our conversation from several meters away. He was able to stop that blond loudmouth from where he stood and looked as though he didn't even break a sweat. He's definitely someone worth keeping an eye on,' the red-head thought to himself.

"I apologize for all the trouble that my teammate caused," he said in a creepy tone of voice, still looking into Lee's eyes. "I am Gaara of the Desert. Now that I've made my introduction, I'm very curious to know your name, as well the kid behind you with a blue shirt."

"My name is Rock Lee of the leaf village."

"And I am Sasuke of the Uchiha clan, also of the leaf village."

Gaara nodded and walked away with his two teammates. Gaara of the Desert, huh? Lee wondered what it was about that guy that was sending shivers up and down his spine. Something wasn't right about that one, of that he was sure. It's like there's another spirit inside him, waiting in agitation to come out and attack, but is being held in check by something. It's a good thing that someone like Sasuke is here to buy a little bit of time for everyone. If Lee hadn't shown up, no one would have stopped Naruto and things surely would have gotten bad. Not only would the leaf village be further shamed by Naruto's idiocy, but someone might have gotten hurt, or worse, killed. Lee promised himself, upon receiving the spirit of the Iron Monkey, that he wouldn't allow any blood to be spilled from his friends. As stupid as Naruto may be, Lee did consider him as a friend, mostly because they shared similar goals in life. Lee turned back to the audience behind him.

"Are you guys alright?" he asked. They all nodded, especially Konohamaru.

"Well then, I'll have to take my leave for now. It's great to see you again, Naruto," said Lee as he vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving his allies where they stood. He took to the rooftops again and proceeded on making his way to the Hokage's tower. Well that fiasco was a total waste of time. If he hadn't gone there, he may have already gotten the information he needed from the old Hokage. Then again, if he hadn't arrive, things would definitely have gotten worse. Lee nodded to himself as he arrived at the doorstep that led to the Hokage's quarters. He knocked once, just like last time, and listened to the voice inside to let him in. When the voice was given, Lee was once again face to face with the Hokage for the third time in one day.

"This is the third time you've come to see me, Lee," he said. "I wager what you have to ask or tell me would be something important, yes?"

Lee nodded.

"I spoke to the shinobi and kunoichi who were captured on the day of my disappearance, two and a half months ago. They told me that they were hired by someone in the cloud village who wanted me alive. They didn't reveal the name of this man, but only his facial appearance. According to them, this man has pale skin, long black hair, and strange reptilian eyes. I was hoping that since you're an old man, no offense, you would be able to help me identify this man," said Lee. Sarutobi's eyes widened and looked up to Lee.

"Snake man, you say?" he asked. Lee nodded slowly. "They also stated that this person might be on his way here to claim me in place of the shinobi and the kunoichi who failed him."

"Alright, I thank you for divulging this information to me. If he's finally showing himself up, chances are he'll be participating in the event that will decide a lot of things that will be happening in the future."

"What event?" asked Lee.

"Oh right, I've forgotten that you've been missing from the village until today. The even that I'm talking about is the chunin exams. The chunin exam is a test that all genin must take if they wish to rise up to the next rank, from genin to chunin. Chunin are qualified to lead missions so it's an important rank. They can also take up C and B rank missions, along with the occasional A rank missions. Why don't you meet up with your sensei? I understand that he's returned from his mission not too long ago. I believe he went to file a report on his mission. I trust you know which building that is?" asked Sarutobi. Lee's eyes lit like a light bulb at the mention of seeing his sensei again. He hadn't seen him in 10 years and now it would be put to and end. "I'll look into this Lee and again, thank you for this information."

"No problem at all," Lee replied as he vanished. Sarutobi narrowed his eyes and snapped his fingers, calling into his office a couple of shinobi.

"Locate the captains of the ANBU squads. Tell them that I wish an audience with them a soon as possible," he said.

Lee sprinted to the missions hall as fast as possible. According to the Hokage, his sensei had finally returned from his mission. If that was indeed true, and he would be filing his mission, now would be a great time to see him. When Lee arrived to the place, he noticed Asuma and Kurenai walking out of the village. They both looked at him, noticing his entrance to the building and shrugged the thought off. Normally, genin weren't allowed in this place, but they didn't care at the moment. They've just been through a pretty tough mission and wished for nothing more than some peace and quiet. They were about to turn away, when something caught Asuma's attention. He glanced back at the young man who had just entered the building. There's something that's very familiar about him. It's not a bad thing, but it was as if he knew this kid. It was odd because the boy looked like no one he'd ever seen in his life. He shrugged the thought off of his head, telling himself that all the cigarettes were finally getting to his head. Lee looked at the back of his sensei.

"Gai-sensei?" he asked, tears flowing from his eyes. Asuma and Kurenai narrowed their eyes. Did that kid just say Gai-sensei? When the sudden realization processed through their brains, they were in as much shock as Gai was about to be in. The older man turned around after handing a sheet of paper to the receptionist. His mouth fell open a bit, disbelieving what his eyes were telling him. Even if it was two and a half months or even 50 years, there were things about his students that he could never forget. This young man that was right before him was the very person that he had been searching in vain for, since the last couple of months. There he was, in the flesh. Gai ran to his long lost pupil and embraced him as tightly as he could, afraid that he would leave him again.

"Lee! It really is you, isn't it! You've been gone for so long and you've changed too!" Gai exclaimed through tears. Asuma smiled at the two, kind of wishing that he too had that kind of relationship with his students. Lee wrapped his arms around his sensei, not wanting to let go either. Gai had always been like his idol of sorts. When they were separated, it was as if there was a piece of his heart missing. And now that he was reunited with him, it was as if his heart was whole again, and if felt damn good. What makes things better is that he actually remembers and recognizes his own pupil, unlike everyone else.

"It's me, Gai-sensei, I'm home," said Lee, looking into the teary-eyed face of his sensei.

"Yes, Lee. You're finally home," Gai replied. As the two began their conversation of catching up, Asuma and Kurenai left the building.

"It's nice to see Gai lighten up again, after all this time," said Kurenai.

"I agree. He's been a bit sour since his student's disappearance. I'm happy for the both of them," said Asuma. He was about to continue when he spotted a fairly large bird circling around them. Kurenai looked at whatever it was the Asuma was looking at. When she saw it, she sighed. "Oh great... now what?"

"You go on ahead, I'm going to get Gai," said Kurenai. Asuma nodded and vanished. Kurenai walked back into the building and saw her colleague and his student sitting down on a bench, catching up on lost times. She hated to be the one to pull them off of each other, especially when they had finally been reunited, but she didn't make the rules in this place. A circling bird above them usually meant a call from the Hokage himself. If she had it her way, she would allow a couple of days for the two of them to become reacquainted and tell each other stories of what's been happening in their lives. But she wasn't the Hokage, just someone following orders. She approached Gai, who immediately noticed her.

"Yes Kurenai, what is it?" he asked.

"The Hokage is calling. It's the bird this time so it seems important," she said. Gai inwardly sighed to himself and looked to his pupil. Lee nodded and smiled to his sensei, allowing him to do what he needed to do.

"It's alright Gai-sensei. Besides, I have something else that needs to be taken cared of. Do what you have to do and we can talk again later," he replied. Gai nodded and ran outside with Kurenai. Lee stood up and walked out of the building. He had just remembered that he beat Neji and Tenten pretty badly on their little sparring match. He didn't know where they had gone but if he had to guess, the others must have taken them some place where their wounds could be treated. Lee made the hospital his first choice and started walking to that direction. He hoped they weren't too badly injured for the chunin exams that the Hokage told him about. A test for a genin to take to become a chunin is probably nerve wracking and difficult. If that's true, then they'd need all the strength they can get. The only thing that Lee needed to watch out for is the snake man, his right hand man, and Gaara of the Desert. Being a demi-god, he wasn't too worried about his own life, but was most concerned about the lives of his comrades. If this exam would put their lives on jeopardy, then he'd have to be extra careful at who they pick a fight against. Lee nodded to himself and quickened his pace to the nearest hospital from his location.

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**

Well, there goes the next chapter. Yeesh, I'm really running out of things to say at these bottom line areas where I'm supposed to say something. Uh... not really sure what else to say except that the next chapter will be posted a bit later than I originally hoped. I was working on it yesterday and got at about half way but ran out of ideas... lol. I don't plan or write these things so as to prepare for them. I type whatever comes to mind, on the spot, and somehow it just fits... to a certain degree. Maybe I really should start planning some of the chapters out, or maybe not? If I do, I'd be breaking a pretty good chain of chapters and I'm probably not up for that. I saw **Yes Man** today, anyone else seen it? For those who haven't, it's a great and incredibly funny movie. It would have been better if the little jackass in the row to my right would have stopped saying his nonsense. Seriously, half the time during the movie, I couldn't concentrate on what Carl (Jim Carrey) was saying. Anyway, happy new year to everyone!!

**P.S.**

**In this chapter, you will notice that I toned down Lee's god-like status. If you read the notes that I left on the bottom of the previous chapter, I did state that there is only one way for Lee to die, and that is for his head to be cleaved off. But I soon realized that immortality, even for someone with the spirit of the Iron Monkey, made him way too powerful, even more powerful than what I had imagined and planned for in this story. So, I weakened him again. Now, his healing ability slows down his aging process, but no longer stops it, making it possible for him to die of age. He actually has a better shot of dying of age because of his incredibly fast healing power, than anything else. I don't really plan to kill him off, unless of course I want to add another twist in later chapters, but I just figured I'd let you all know that. I hope you guys aren't too mad at me for this.  
**

Ja ne!


	5. Chapter 5

**Legend of the Iron Monkey**

**Naruto Fanfiction**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a single shred of Naruto.**

**Chapter 5: Destiny's Aid (Part 1)  
**

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"Really? But it's so soon," said Kakashi, looking into the eyes of the old Hokage. All available chunin and jonin were gathered to the hall of the Hokage, where the old man does most of his thinking. At first, they thought that their village leader had finally gone senile, but no longer saw it that way. The chunin exams were coming, and a lot sooner than they had anticipated. "I thought we'd have a little bit more time."

"I thought so as well, but it was a majority vote with the other kages of the surrounding villages," he replied. "I'm sorry to you Kakashi, as well as the rest of you. I disagreed on this event when the other kages held the vote, but it was unanimous. They all wanted this, so I have no say in it. In just a week from today, the genin from this village and the genin from the other neighboring villages will test their mettle in the chunin exams."

The chunin exams, a very important exam that every genin takes and must pass in order to become a full fledged chunin. It's held twice per year, giving applicants another chance to try and pass it, should they fail on their first time. Gai thought about the exam and his squad. Through the missions and experience that he's put Neji and Tenten through, they should come out alright. It was Lee that he was worried about. He was gone for quite some time and had only returned recently. The taijutsu specialist felt Lee's power when they were reunited, but would that be enough to let him at least escape the chunin exam with his life? He looked to the other jonin who had already made their decisions in allowing their students to participate in the chunin exams. He wished that he was as sure as they were in their students, or as sure as he was last year. He promised himself that he would allow his students to take the exam after one year of extra training. The opportunity was there, last year, but he held them back. But now that it had finally come, would his squad be ready for such a challenge?

Kakashi looked to his colleague, who was thinking deeply about his students and the exam no doubt. The sharingan user had complete faith in his students that they would impress everyone with their skills. He wasn't exactly counting on them to become chunin so soon, as none of them really has what it takes to lead a mission without returning to the village while dragging the corpses of their dead comrades. His students were too hot-blooded, and he knew that, especially Naruto and Sasuke. They have potential, but aren't quite ready to shine just yet. Sakura is another case. As great as she is at chakra control, it's only because she doesn't have much of it at all. Naruto is terrible at it for reasons obvious to only those who lived through the skirmish of 13 years ago. Sasuke isn't too bad, but not that great either. It's like Sakura is rolling a ball, going down hill. Sasuke is rolling a ball on a flat road. Naruto is not only pushing a ball up a hill, but a ball that weighed 10 times more than his own weight. Kakashi wondered if Gai would allow his own students to take the test. He couldn't just allow one or two of them to go, there are rules to these things after all.

As Gai thought of his answer, the Hokage called forward the jonin teachers of the rookie nine, the batch of genin who had just graduated from the academy, a couple of months ago. Kakashi was up first, who immediately recommended his team for the chunin exams. Everyone, especially Gai and Iruka were very surprised. Both men were actually thinking the same thing. Perhaps Kakashi's abilities were clouding his judgment. They knew that Kakashi really isn't the greatest teacher in the world, so why would he be allowing a few fresh genin to take the exam? Gai wondered as to what his rival was trying to prove. After Kakashi made his decision, Kurenai was up next and Asuma right after, both of which said the same exact words that Kakashi stated. They gave their squad permission to take part in the chunin exam, despite their experience. It was then that Iruka made a rather loud out burst. Everyone, even the Hokage looked to the academy teacher.

"You can't be serious!" he exclaimed. "I know those students, I trained them myself. They all show great promise but they aren't ready for this exam. Why not do what Gai did and hold them back a year to hone their skills? The chunin exams can crack even the toughest genin and you all know this. So why would you send your students to their doom?"

"Iruka, I appreciate your concern. It's touching really," said Kakashi. Iruka narrowed his eyes at him. "I concede to the fact that you trained the aforementioned genin but you have to understand that they've been out of your academy for quite some time. I'm not Shikamaru's or Hinata's sensei but I trust in Asuma's and Kurenai's ability to teach their students. They are ready for this, trust me."

"That's just it, Kakashi," replied Iruka, trying to tone down his anger. "I'm aware of your rank as a jonin, possessing far superior skills to mine, but I just don't trust you on this one. Please listen to me and hold your students back. They aren't ready for the chunin exams!"

"Iruka, please," said Sarutobi.

"But..."

"As Kakashi said, we appreciate your concern, but he's right. They are no longer your students. And plus, it's their decision to allow their students to enter the exam, not yours. If they believe in the abilities of their students, you don't really have a say in the matter," said the Hokage. Iruka was about to interject but found it to be rather pointless of an effort. The old man did have a point. Iruka nodded and stepped back to his original spot. After Asuma was finished recommending his students, there was one last jonin who hadn't given his answer yet, and for a pretty good reason. The Hokage looked to his last jonin, Mito Gai.

"Gai, have you made your decision yet?" he asked. "Will you allow your students to participate in this year's chunin exams or will you wait until next time?"

"I don't know. I want them to participate, but I'm not sure about Lee. He's been absent for a while, and you all know this. He hasn't been able to come with the rest of the squad for missions that he desperately needs experience in," he said.

"I understand your concern, Gai, but surely you have felt his power," replied the Hokage. "He hasn't really been wasting time at all. He's grown much stronger in two and a half months than anyone in this village with the given amount of time. And according to his records, he's completed a substantial amount of D and C rank missions to be able to enter the chunin exam this year. But the decision still goes down to you."

"I want to but..."

"Choose carefully, Gai. If you disapprove of Lee's ability to enter in the chunin exam, your other two students will not be able to participate," said Kurenai. "Those have always been the rules to the chunin exams and I'm sure that you're well aware of that. And regarding his capability, I felt his aura when he entered the building while you were filing your report for the mission that we had just returned from. His aura is different from what it was before his disappearance, and Asuma felt it too. Your student has improved in his absence, far beyond what any of us have ever expected in our students."

Gai looked to her and the other jonin and chunin. Kurenai proved a very important point. If he disapproved of Lee's ability to enter the exam, then Neji and Tenten wouldn't be allowed to participate either. On a side note, he had also felt Lee's power when he last laid eyes on the boy. Kurenai was right in saying that Lee had really improved. If he wouldn't allow Lee to enter, it wouldn't be fair for his other students who have been training hard for the chunin exams. He possessed no right to ban two of his students from the exam just because he had negative thoughts about allowing his third student to participate. In Lee's two months of absence, Gai taught his two remaining students a set of techniques that Lee never learned about. And at one point or another in the exam, Lee may end up facing against Neji or Tenten. He would surely be at a disadvantage... but then again, if Lee really has improved, this would be a great opportunity to see what he's learned while he was away from the village. After making his decision, Gai looked to the Hokage, who was patiently waiting for his answer.

"I, Mito Gai, recommend all three of my students; Neji Hyuuga, Tenten (**A/N: Jeez, it really bothers me that Tenten has no last name...**), and Rock Lee, to participate in this year's chunin exam," he said with full confidence. He would have to talk to his students about this, especially Lee. Sarutobi nodded and motioned for all of the jonin teachers to come to his desk, where he gave them all three sheets of paper. The papers served as application forms to allow their students to take the exam. The teachers wrote the names of each of their students' names on the paper and signed their signature on the bottom, right above the space where their students would sign their signature in order to enter the chunin exams. When all of that had been taken cared of, the Hokage cleared his throat.

"Alright, those of you who have received applications, go ahead and locate your students and hand these to them. Although you have recommended them to participate in the exam, it is still their choice as to whether they will take part in it or not. You will all await your students at the entrance of the first phase of the exam, seven days from today. If even one of them refuses to enter, you are not to allow the other two from entering. Those are the rules of this exam, and have always been," said the Hokage as the jonin teachers nodded. "If there are no further questions, you are all dismissed."

The chunin and jonin shinobi nodded and vanished.

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As Lee walked into the hospital, he noticed many shinobi inside, getting ready for something big. And by the look of their forehead protectors, they all belong from other villages. On his way to the receptionist, he wondered what all of these shinobi were doing here. And what's with the huge line on the other side of the building? If the line is so big, filled with shinobi from other villages, there must be something important going on. Lee shrugged his shoulders and told himself to attend to it later. Right now, his two comrades were his priority. When he was close enough to the receptionist, he asked for Neji and Tenten, and surprisingly got a positive answer. The nurse in charge of the desk told him that they would be located on the second floor, the fourth room to his right. Lee nodded and proceeded to that direction. On his way there, he bumped into Hinata, Kiba, Shikamaru, Shino, Ino, and Choji.

"Hey guys," he greeted casually. "Any idea what's with the big line over there in the lobby?"

"Haven't you heard? Oh hold on, you've been out for a while," said Shikamaru. "Basically, those are all shinobi from other neighboring villages. They came here because this is where their passports will be accepted for permission to participate in the chunin exam. I'm not sure why it's here, if you ask me this place should be reserved for those who actually need to be here. But I don't call the shots, so I have no idea."

"Chunin exams? Already?" asked Lee. Shikamaru nodded. The taijutsu master thought about it for a while. Maybe this is that event that his father was talking about. And if this many genin from neighboring countries were gathering in one place, chances are that the snake man would be here somewhere as well. Another problem is, he didn't know if the snake man is a genin or a rank of higher status. If he had to do battle with him, he would have to be very careful, even with the training that he had gone through in the cave of the Iron Monkey with his father. As strong as he is now, the receiving of the Iron Monkey's spirit still didn't allow him to perform jutsus, but that has never been an issue in the past when it came to taking down other enemy shinobi in past missions. But perhaps that was only because Gai-sensei was around. According to his understanding, in the chunin exams, jonin teachers aren't allowed to help their students. The only help that the students will get are from their own squads. But somewhere along the line, he knew he would have to fight them again, which wasn't his main problem. Everywhere he turned, his problem would be this snake man, mainly because he didn't know the name or any better pieces of identification.

"Uh... you alright there, Lee?" asked Kiba, waving his hand in front of Lee's face. Said shinobi snapped back to reality and faced his comrade. He smiled widely and scratched the back of his head.

"I'm sorry, did I just space out back there? Please forgive me, I was thinking of a few other things," he said. Kiba nodded.

"Well, we should get going. Kurenai-sensei hasn't told us anything about this chunin exam thing, we just heard it from some people here. I suppose our jonin teachers would want us in our usual training grounds. I expect they would meet us there to tell us about this," he said. Lee nodded once more, allowing that phrase to linger in his mind. After his visit of his comrades, he would have to make his way to their training ground as well, to meet up with Gai-sensei. There he would ask his share of questions about the chunin exams. The other genin nodded, grouped with their respective squads, and walked out of the building. Lee continued to make his way to the room where his own comrades are probably resting in. When he arrived, he opened the door slowly, expecting them to be asleep. When he took a peek, both Tenten and Neji were up on their feet. Lee opened the door all the way and walked up to his friends.

"Shouldn't you guys be resting?" he asked. Tenten turned to face him.

"No way. Kiba and Ino informed us of the chunin exams that are going to be held this year. There's no time to take breaks because according to them, there's only a week left until this exam starts. Remember what Gai-sensei promised us last year? He would allow us to participate in the chunin exams if we trained hard for one year, and we did," she replied. "But I'm going to keep training until it starts."

"She's right," Neji added. "You defeated me earlier and I admit that you've gotten stronger but you just surprised me with your sudden return and caught me at one of my weakest spots. There's still a few tricks that I know that I haven't shown either you or Tenten, but those techniques need perfection. I'm not just going to lay down and rest my precious time in bed. I'm using this amount of time to train and get stronger."

"Heh, you're actually going to train now? That's something new," said Lee, crossing his arms over his chest. "I can understand Tenten training, but not once have I ever seen you train for your life. Do you even know how to train?"

"Laugh while you can, Lee. If we do meet in battle again, the results won't be the same," he said. The three shinobi were about to leave the building when a figure appeared in a puff of smoke, right in front of them. It was their teacher, Mito Gai, and he was holding three sheets of papers in his hands, no doubt having something to do with the chunin exams. Gai raised one of his eyebrows and glanced to his students, wondering what they were doing in the hospital. Lee didn't have a scratch on him, but Neji and Tenten actually have a few bandages on their arms and faces. Bandages were something that Neji didn't appeal to, but if it would help in treating his injuries, he allowed them to stay on his face. The jonin wondered why Lee didn't have a single scratch on his body. Did Neji and Tenten do some heavy training without Lee? But none of Tenten's attacks should be able to hit Neji, so why did he have bandages? And why did some of his injuries have bruises on them? Tenten is a good kunoichi, but not the most skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Lee couldn't possibly have caused those to Neji, could he?

"Uhh... did I miss something?" asked Gai, looking to Neji and Tenten. "What are you three doing here in the hospital? Did you guys do some kind of sparring match that left Lee unscathed and left you two with more bruises than I can count?"

"These bruises will heal but I need to train," said Neji, stepping forward to Gai. "We know about the chunin exams and that they will be held in a week from today. I don't have time to sit around, lollygagging. I need to get stronger so I can wipe the floor with the nobodies downstairs."

"Hmm... so the reception is happening in the hospital this time, huh? Anyway, I came here to give you three these permission slips," he said, handing each one of them a sheet of brown paper. "They already have your names on them and my signature on the bottom. Signing those permission slips will allow you to participate in this year's chunin exams. But those are also death waivers. Signing them means that the village isn't responsible of your deaths, should you die in the chunin exams. But don't worry, nothing like that ever happens here, save for a few unfortunate accidents that happened years before but that isn't an issue this time."

"And that's because?" asked Tenten.

"Well, there are more rules this year than there are from the years prior. When the chunin exam is hosted in the leaf village, we take extreme caution with the death toll of our genin. Besides, you guys are our future shinobi. Can't have any of you dying before you achieve your destiny, right?" asked Gai. Lee nodded as he looked over the permission slip. "Well then, I have instructions to leave the three of you until an entire week has passed. The next time I'm allowed to see you is when I meet you by the entrance of the first phase of the exam, which is located in room 301 in the third floor of the academy. Are there any questions?"

The three of them shook their heads.

"Then if that's the case, see you all next week!" he said as he vanished in his trademark, a swirl of leaves. Lee looked to his comrades.

"I'm going to do a bit of my own training. I'll see you guys later," he said. Neji scoffed and jumped out of the window. Lee was about to leave as well when Tenten tugged on his cloak. He turned to her with questioning eyes. "Is something wrong, Tenten?"

"Um, well... I have a favor to ask of you," she said. "You've gotten so much stronger than the rest of us since your absence. You're probably the most prepared out of the most of us for this exam so... I was wondering if you could help me out in my training."

"Huh? Why would you need help? You're a great kunoichi," said Lee.

"Maybe but you and Neji are so much better than I can ever be and I'm a bit jealous of you two. Neji has his exceptional training from his clan and his bloodline limit. You've had personal training from Gai-sensei since he probably likes you more. But I've never had either of those and I thought that was okay for a while. But when I noticed Neji's power sky-rocket, and yours as well, I started to feel really left out," she replied. "I want to become as great as one of the legendary sannin, Tsunade, but I have one other goal. I want to prove to the world that female ninja can be just as effective as male ninja."

Lee nodded.

"Those are good goals, but unfortunately, I'm not talented in genjutsu or ninjutsu and therefore will not be able to train you in those aspects," he said. Tenten formed a smile.

"That's not a problem at all. As a weapons expert, I have a wide array of knowledge in the art of weaponry, and that also means close-quarters-combat. I think weapons mastery goes hand in hand with taijutsu, and I'm not very strong at that especially considering that our sensei is a taijutsu master. I guess what I'm saying is, I want you to teach me a few taijutsu moves that you know," she said. Lee placed his hand on his chin, thinking about the situation. He so desperately wanted to help Tenten, but he didn't know what one week of extra training would do for her. Then again, there is that... no, he can't go back there. But he wanted to help his comrade so badly. She has pure intentions and he didn't want her to fail in her goal of proving to the world that female ninja can be just as good as male ninja. That would actually blow a considerable hole in Neji's ego and that's something that Lee was very interested in. He had no ill will towards the Hyuuga, he just wanted Neji to stop treating others as if they are lowly beings as compared to him.

"I don't know what you can teach me in one week, but anything that comes from you will be helpful in some way," said Tenten. Lee sighed to himself. One week definitely isn't enough... but maybe one year will do the trick. That's where the cave of the Iron Monkey comes in. And maybe if Tenten trains there hard enough, perhaps she too can achieve the rapid cellular regeneration that Lee possesses. But that would be a long shot since she doesn't come from his family line. But who ever said that only those of his family line can achieve that very useful ability? Maybe she can do it but it won't be as potent as Lee's. Sure he unlocked his in only eight months, but when it came to him, it wasn't as potent as it was now. But it's at least something that he could offer to his teammate. Lee looked to Tenten and smiled.

"If you can keep a secret, I can definitely make you a lot stronger in one week," he said. Tenten's face brightened as Lee approached her.

"What secret is it? You can trust me with any secret," she said to him. Lee looked around him, making sure that no one was there. She would be the second person that he would reveal his new powers to, but he knew that he could trust Tenten. Lee pulled a shuriken from his holster and held it over his arm. Tenten looked at him, wondering what has happening. "What in the world are you doing?"

"Just watch and try not to scream," he said as he made a rather large gash at his own arm with the shuriken that was on his other hand. Tenten gasped and placed her hands over her mouth to prevent further screaming. What was Lee trying to prove? After a few seconds, she finally recovered from her sudden shock and was about to turn around to grab a towel in hopes of stopping Lee's blood from escaping, when she saw something that she didn't think was possible. His wound was actually healing, right before her eyes. As his wound closed, his blood returned to his body like some kind of magic. Tenten looked to her comrade with a mixture of fear and amazement in her eyes.

"Lee... how did you do that?" she asked.

"That, is only a little bit of what I've been up to, these past few... months," he said, leaving out the fact that he was actually training for 10 years, instead of 10 months. "I'm not sure what taijutsu techniques I can offer to you right now, but if you can achieve this rapid cellular regeneration that I possess, a wider variety of jutsus will be opened up to you."

"That's really amazing but... you said it took you months to do that. We only have a week until the exam starts," she said in disappointment. She was really looking forward to having that healing ability in her arsenal. It would help so much in her battles in the future.

"True as that may be, there's a way we can bend time. But in order for that to happen, I have to take you where I trained for the time that I was absent from the village. But to even do that, we have to get permission to leave the village," he said, wondering if there was a way for them to be excused from the village without any prying eyes going into their business. Tenten pondered about it for a while. At first, nothing entered her mind, but after another minute or so, an idea appeared into her brain.

"I think I know of one. My family is in the business of making shinobi weapons for this village and other neighboring villages. We often go out of the village to sell our merchandise to the other countries and we already have permission to do this. And it just so happens, my mom is supposed to do that today. If I can convince her to allow us to do it instead, that should do the trick. Also, I know about the whole issue with genin being out of the village without a jonin, but I can get around that as well," she said. Lee nodded slowly, trying to comprehend it all. "Meet me in front of the village gates in two hours. I'll have everything set up by then. Pack some rations too, because I plan to train for one whole week."

"Um... you should pack enough rations to train for one whole year," said Lee. Tenten was now lost. "The way I'm going to train you, you'll learn a year's worth of knowledge."

Tenten grinned slightly and nodded.

"Alright, I'll see you then. And don't worry, your secret is safe with me. At least now I understand how you defeated Neji and I without so much as a scratch. That healing ability will come in handy in my future battles. If I can have that too, I'd be eternally grateful," she said as she hopped out through the window with a smile on her face. Lee sighed again and sat on one of the beds. He hoped that he wasn't just making empty promises to Tenten. What if she can't possess the rapid cellular regeneration? So far, the only other person he knew that has that ability is his father. Lee hoped that by training in the cave of the Iron Monkey would be enough to earn Tenten that ability. If the chunin exam will include that snake man, he didn't want to endanger any of his friends. He knew that Neji would be alright but Tenten had a point in what she said earlier. She isn't as skilled in the shinobi arts as Neji or Lee and would most likely be fatally injured if the snake man were to make an appearance. One year in the cave won't be enough to make the healing ability as potent as Lee's, but at least she will possess it to a certain degree. It should be enough to heal minor to medium injuries, such as scratches from shinobi weapons or medium damage from some jutsus.

Lee nodded to himself and leaped out of the hospital as well, returning to his apartment to gather some supplies.

__________________________________________________

The Iron Monkey crossed his arms over his chest, wondering if this little idea of theirs would work. Two hours had passed and Lee had already gotten his supplies from his apartment, and Tenten was already right in front of him with the shinobi weaponry that they were supposedly in charge of delivering to the land of the wind. Apparently, their plan was to deliver the shinobi weaponry, with Tenten disguised as her mother, using a transformation jutsu. It was a surefire plan, especially since Tenten's mother is a jonin. Her mother actually agreed to it when Tenten told her that someone from her team was going to train her for the chunin exams. Her father wasn't so accepting of it, knowing that his daughter would be alone in the woods for a week with a boy. But when Tenten informed her that it was going to be Lee, he accepted right away, knowing that Lee wasn't Tenten's type anyway. He hadn't seen him for a very long time and hasn't yet seen his new appearance, and Tenten knew that she should keep it that way. Lee looked to his comrade, who was carrying a rather large sack of shinobi weaponry. There was another sack next to her, probably for him to carry.

"Um... are you sure you want to carry that rather huge sack of ninja tools? It looks pretty heavy," he said. Tenten glared at him. Was he insinuating that a sack filled with weaponry would be too much for a girl? Lee was a bit surprised at the look that she was giving him, wondering what it was that he said to make her look at him that way. Tenten dropped the sack and used her transformation jutsu to transform into the perfect appearance of her mother. She picked up her own sack of rations from the floor and looked to him.

"Why don't you carry it then? Apparently, those shinobi tools are too heavy for a girl like me," she said. Lee shrugged his shoulders and carried both sacks of weaponry on only one of his shoulders. Tenten was pretty shocked at how easily her partner carried those sacks. They weigh at least 80 pounds each, so that would mean that Lee was carrying 160 pounds worth of metal on his shoulder. "Wow... you proved me wrong..."

"It's really nothing. And if you can live through my training, you'll be able to do more than just this," he said. That comment brightened the kunoichi's face. The thought that she would possess incredible skill, strength, and a useful healing ability, was just too much excitement for her to contain. Tenten nodded to him and led the way. Two chunin guards blocked the way. Lee was hoping to his lucky stars that this plan would be enough to fool a couple of chunin rank shinobi. When one of the chunin saw them, he nodded to his partner and allowed them to pass. Lee's mouth fell to the floor.

"Another batch then, madaam?" he asked. Tenten, in disguise, nodded. The chunin looked up and gave the signal, telling those in charge of opening and closing the gates, to have them opened for the two who wished to pass. The chunin thought that the weapons blacksmith was going alone, like usual, but when she saw another with her, a question popped inside his mind. Although a kunochi with sacks of heavy weaponry to carry, the mistress of the blacksmithing family was very capable of taking care of herself. "Um, someone else will be going with you today?"

"Yes. I'm just teaching him the routes that I take. I would take my daughter but she's very busy with some preparations for the upcoming chunin exam. This young man volunteered to come with me in place of my daughter," she said. The chunin guard nodded slowly.

"I see. I apologize for questioning you, ma'am. When will you return?" he asked.

"One week from today, just enough time for me to see my daughter take part in the exam," she said. Instead of letting them pass, another question entered the guard's mind. He noticed the mistress holding her set of rations. If conserved properly, it would be enough to feed someone for a year. Why would she need that much food for a trip that would only take a week? Tenten wondered why the guard wasn't talking and caught his eye on her rather large sack of rations. On the fly, Tenten managed to think of a really stupid excuse that she hoped this guard would buy into.

"Oh, you're looking at these rations, right?" she asked. The guard nodded and looked back to her with a bit of suspicion. "Some of it is for me, but the rest are for the villagers there as a token from the leaf village. You know that the village hidden in the sand is a bit low on resources due to economic problems, and I just want to do my part and help them out a bit."

The chunin nodded once more and stepped further aside, convincing himself that what the mistress said would be enough of a reason, and allowed her and her companion to pass. When they were successfully out of the village, the gates closed from behind them. Lee let out a breath of air that he didn't know he was holding back. He couldn't believe that it actually worked, and what Tenten said earlier about the village hidden in the sand. Was that a lie too or is there really something going on with that village? He shook the thought from the surface of his mind and told himself that he would take care of it later, on top of other things that he still had to do. If security is this bad in the village, then his father was right in fearing the future events. Lee made a mental note to himself to tell the Hokage to strengthen the security when they returned to the village after their year of training. When they were far enough from the eyes of the shinobi of the leaf village, Tenten dropped her transformation jutsu.

"Whew, finally," she said, taking deep breaths. It didn't occur to her that holding a jutsu for that long would take so much chakra from her system, but was glad that it was over. She looked to Lee. "Hey, where are we going anyway? My part is done and I think I deserve to know what's going on in your head."

"Well, since no one is around and you're the only one here, I think it's safe to divulge my plan to you," he said as they continued walking. Tenten paid close attention. "Alright, when I fell down the cliff, two months ago, my body landed in a river with strong currents. The last thing I saw before getting knocked out was the currents shoving me to a boulder. When I woke up, I found myself inside a cave and a man inside who apparently saved my life."

"A man? Who?" she asked.

"Um, that's not important right now. Besides, that's something I'd rather keep to myself. I want to tell you but I don't think it would be safe for you to know yet, at least until I'm finished with training you," he replied. Tenten nodded, knowing that it was a fair answer. "Anyway, the cave that I was in is a special one. One year spent in there causes a week to pass by in the outside world. My plan is to train you there for a year and teach you whatever I can. When I trained there, my body was granted the ability of rapid cellular regeneration after eight months of training, but that could be because I unlocked something about me that I never knew existed."

"What is it?" asked Tenten, curiosity reaching new levels.

"I learned that I'm the last son of an extinct clan, and that I too have kekkei genkai. My ability allows me to get stronger every time a heal from a fatal wound. The more energy my opponent uses into harming me, the stronger I become if I heal from it," he said. "And when I was granted the ability of quick healing, it only aided my kekkei genkai."

"So... you get stronger every time you heal from a wound?" asked Tenten. Lee nodded. "Wow, that's really an incredible ability. But I have one more question. When you fought Neji earlier today, I was very exhausted and was probably knocked out. But I forced myself awake long enough to see Neji perform a Hyuuga clan technique on you. It isn't perfected he was successful with hitting you with everything he had, yet you came out unscathed. I can understand that you weren't injured at all, probably because of your healing ability, but what I don't get is how you were able to mirror what Neji just did."

"Oh that... that's a secret," Lee replied with a smirk. "I keep all the best secrets to myself, Tenten, I hope you understand."

"Yeah, I get it. But I wonder... are you serious about this cave that we're going to and its special powers of bending time? How is that even possible? And where is it located?" she asked. Lee nodded. Tenten remained silent for a while, allowing Lee to lead her to wherever it was that they were going. She made a mental note to herself to memorize where it was that they were going, as she knew that she would need to know it on their way back. Lee looked ahead, still wondering if Tenten would be granted the quick healing ability that he too possessed. It was something that he promised that she would attain, but now he wasn't so sure. His father told him something about the cave, while he trained there. People who don't share their same bloodline are affected by the protective charms that the cave is enchanted with. The charms enter the target's mind and causes them to turn back, forgetting the very reason as to why they were even there in the first place.

In addition to that, what if even by training in there, she isn't able to attain the healing ability? Could it be something that only people of his clan were capable of unlocking? If that's true, then the experience and training of one year, will have to be enough. Honestly, he was hoping that Tenten would also be able to attain that power, as it could really help in her training. Long ago, when Lee first attained said power, he noticed that it wasn't just injuries that it would mend. The healing ability would also restore his stamina, allowing him to fight or train longer. When he first gained his healing ability, it would only restore wounds and slowly re-energize him, if give the proper amount of time. The same would probably happen for Tenten as well. After training even longer inside the cave, his healing powers evolved. He could still feel some pain from the attacks done to him, but the pain was drastically reduced. Adding to that, his healing ability was much more powerful, allowing him to heal larger wounds that were done on his body. Too bad they didn't have that kind of time, so a lower level of self healing would have to suffice for the chunin exam.

Another thing that Lee remembered was that the cave was hours upon hours of running in distance. If they continued the pace that they were on, then they would arrive in the cave in about a day. Lee knew that they didn't have the luxury to spare that much time. Tenten would need as much time as possible to even hope to attain that ability. He remembered that he trained everyday until he dropped from exhaustion. Lee was hoping that Tenten is willing to train that hard and for that long. Suddenly, it had just dawned onto him that he was hoping for a lot of things today. Was it because of fear of a few things that would be taking place in the future? He knew that the source of his concern was because of the snake man that the prisoners were talking about. Above that, the only thing he knew about his snake man was facial appearance that he had never seen in his life. To top it all off, he didn't even know this man's name. He sighed to himself for the umpteenth time today. Tenten looked to her companion, wonder what else was in his mind.

Before asking him what else he was thinking of, the kunoichi decided to ponder on the training method that Lee would be using. She was up for anything, if it would increase her skill as a kunoichi. Besides the training, she was also thinking about the healing ability that Lee had, and that she would hopefully attain. Can training in some cave really grant her that kind of power? Maybe Lee is wrong. What if that ability is reserved only for people of his clan? It really does go well with his ability to become stronger after healing from a wound. Tenten told herself to not be so surprised if she wasn't granted such a useful ability. Maybe it's really only for people of Lee's clan and he made a mistake in one of his deductions. Still... a passive healing ability would be incredibly useful in her future battles with other shinobi from other villages. Who knows what kind of heat some of the genin in the chunin exam will be packing? If she isn't careful, she could be caught in the crossfire. Such a time will be where that healing ability would come in handy. Lee noticed her uneasiness.

"Hey, is something wrong?" he asked. Tenten snapped back to reality and looked to her friend.

"Oh no, nothing at all. I was just thinking of a few things. But besides that, how far is this place anyway?" she asked. Lee inwardly smacked himself for forgetting about what he was going to do and what he should have done a while ago, when they were far enough from the eyes of the leaf shinobi who guarded the entrance to the village.

"It's very far and would take at least a day to get there if we keep at this pace," he said.

"Then what are we waiting for, let's get moving!" she said. She was about to take to the trees when Lee's arm to her shoulder, held her back. "What's up? Shouldn't we get a move on? I don't really want to waste time that I could be using to train."

"Yeah, I don't either," he said as he vanished along with her and the two sacks of shinobi weaponry that he was carrying, in a flash of white light. When Tenten blinked from the blinding light, they were in a different location. The leaf kunoichi looked around her surroundings. The place that they were in was no longer a the forest that they were in prior to that white light. Did Lee use some kind of jutsu to take them to this place? But Lee can't use jutsus, no matter how hard he trains. So how did they get to this place? There was a huge waterfall in front of them, but the water smelled very clean as opposed to lake or ocean water. Fishes were abundant and everything seemed so magical. She turned to Lee.

"Where are we? How did we get here? Did you take us here?" she asked all at the same time.

"Well, to answer all of that in order; we are near the cave where you and I will train, you got here because I pulled you and ran very fast, and yes I took you here. And if you're going to ask anything about me using a jutsu, I can't use jutsus and you know that. I simply ran very fast," he replied.

Tenten stared at him in astonishment.

"When do I get to be as fast as that?" she asked.

"Not in the session of training, I'll say that much," he said. Tenten sighed. "It took me years of training to attain speed like this and if you can do it in one year, I'd be very ashamed of myself. My only goal for now is that you train long enough for the cave to grant you the rapid cellular regeneration ability."

"I see," she replied, nodding to his answer. Just as she was about to comment on another thing, she noticed some sort of shadow behind the waterfall. If that was the cave that Lee was talking about, it would be very fitting. There was indeed something about that cave which shed some light into what Lee was saying about it when he told her. There was some kind of magical presence in the cave. It was as if a voice inside it was calling out to her. It was telling her to turn back and it was succeeding. Little by little, she was starting to forget why she was there in the first place. She tried to dig inside her mind, trying to find out what reason it was that she had for being in the cave. When she could find none, she took a few steps back. Lee glanced to her, knowing exactly what was happening. It was just as his father told him. Those who didn't share their same bloodline would be affected by the protective spells that the cave was enchanted with by the original Iron Monkey. He rolled his eyes and chopped on the back of Tenten's neck with his hand, knocking her out cold.

"Well, at least we're finally here," he said as he caught her by the waist with his free arm. He carried her on his arm and made his way to the cave. Hopefully one year in this place will allow her to attain that very precious ability. Even as weak as it would be, it would still help tremendously in the chunin exam. When Lee entered the cave, he felt its magical presence surround him and Tenten as well. He placed her down next to a wall and placed the sack of shinobi weaponry on another side. He would have to bring those to the village of the sand on his own while Tenten is training, but that would have to wait for a few days. Lee watched as his friend slept. She would surely need as much rest as possible for what was to come.

"Sleep well Tenten. You'll need it," he said as he started doing a bit of his own training.

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Ahh... chapter five finished. I guess he's going into the cave again. The next chapter, or was it the one after, will explain more and more things about the cave that hasn't been mentioned yet. There's more about it than I've said and those will appear in following chapters. The chunin exams are also coming, but expect a couple of twists. I'm currently writing chapter 14 right now, and I'd have to say that it's turning out rather nicely. So many ideas are just barging into my head and it's hard to contain them all. Anyway, does anyone here listen to **FLOW **or **UVERworld**? I can't seem to decide which band is better because I like all of their songs. That's all for this chapter and the next one will be posted in a few days, after I make a bit of editing here and there. Tell me what you guys think!

Ja ne!


	6. Chapter 6

**Legend of the Iron Monkey**

**Naruto Fanfiction**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a single shred of Naruto or Onimusha. Regarding the Onimusha part, it's a really insignificant part of the chapter and probably the rest of the story, but I just decided to point that out.  
**

**Chapter 6: Destiny's Aid (Part 2)  
**

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Tenten huffed and fell to her knees after a near fatal strike to the chest, from Lee's staff. It had been almost a year since Lee carried her into the cave, and almost a year since they found out that the cave granted her the quick healing ability that she wanted. They found out that the magical energies from the cave that entered her body when Lee carried her into the cave, was the regeneration ability. Neither of them knew why the cave gave it to her so quickly, but they didn't complain. Since Tenten got her ability much sooner than Lee did, she was given the chance to get much harder and harsher training in the year that she had been in the cave. It was at the first day when she found out just how powerful Lee had gotten in the time that he trained in the cave. It wasn't until the second month of her training that she was able to land a solid hit with her fist, to Lee's chest. The healing ability actually proved very useful in the time that the young kunoichi had trained in the cave. There were many times when she was battered and bruised by Lee's ferocious arts, but her healing ability took care of it. It wasn't as fast as Lee's, for sure, but it helped tremendously.

The time spend training in the cave did a lot of good to her physical appearance as well. Since she wasn't a part of Lee's bloodline, the effects of the cave were slightly different on her. Her physical body still aged according to what amount of time passed in the outside world, but her physical appearance changed according to the amount of time that passed in the cave. She grew slightly taller, but still a little shorter than Lee. Her hair had grown longer, and because of her constant day in and day out training, she wasn't granted the chance to cut it. Eventually, she decided not to, probably out of laziness. She tied her hair to a pony tail but allowed some stray bangs to go in the way of her face. Her figure had changed as well, becoming much curvier and gaining some light muscles on her abdomen, biceps, and triceps. She still contained a feminine figure, but more toned and more defined. Besides her physical appearance, her skills as a kunoichi had increased dramatically too. Training in the cave wasn't just spent purely on taijutsu. She also trained using her genjutsu and ninjutsu. Her chakra control improved to a drastic level as well, almost matching that of seasoned chunin in the leaf village.

Not only did her physical body mature and changed, her fashion style changed as well. As a female ninja who took her profession seriously, she changed out of the Chinese outfit that consisted of a pink sleeveless top and a pair of blue pants. Her new outfit was brought to her by Lee, when she requested a new change of clothes, after the first two months of training. Having attained a decent eye for fashion, Lee picked out a very nice set of clothes for her that not only maximized her movement, but also her dexterity. She now wore a black, sleeveless top that was made of a dense, fiber-like fabric, but was very light. It hugged her body like a second skin. Over that was something of the same style but looser and made of soft leather, which was black as well. For the arms, she wore hard leather arm guards, crimson in color, that started from just a couple of inches below her elbow and ended at the wrist. and went all the way down to her fingertips, acting as fingerless gloves. The material wasn't too tight on her arm but hugged it pretty well. The only part of her upper body that was exposed was her shoulders.

As for her bottoms, she no longer wore a pair of pants. Instead, it was replaced by a thin, crimson colored skirt that was made of cloth, and undergarments underneath of course. It was the same color as her arm guards and went from the hips to the midst of her thighs. As for the leggings, she wore a pair of black high socks made of cloth fabric that started seven inches off of where her skirt ends, all the way down to her feet, acting like socks for her feet. Instead of the usual sandals that many shinobi and kunoichi wear, Tenten harbored crimson laces that rose in a spiral direction, going from her ankles to just below her knee cap and a pair of flip-flops that were tied to the laces on her legs. Behind her, in between her back and butt area, were two daggers, and her holster of ninja tools on the side, held together by a black, cloth wrapping, that was wrapped around her hips. Lastly, there was a face mask tied to her top, that covered up to the nose area of her face. The face mask, because it was attached to the sleeveless top, was colored black.

*** (A/N #1, see below for explanation.) *  
**

She learned a fairly wide array of taijutsu from Lee, as well as a few stances that would prove useful in battle. There were a couple of stances that he never taught her but she understood, just as he told her before. He would keep some of his personal stances for himself. Because she was granted the healing ability much sooner than Lee was, she was able to train until she dropped and got back up to keep training. Her taijutsu skills now matched that of even Neji, easily surpassing Sasuke's taijutsu. Although having superior chakra capacity, her chakra control was now even greater than Sakura's and maybe Hinata's. As for food, those weren't a problem at all. Whenever they ran out of food, Lee would go out for a few minutes to the outside world and come back days later as compared to the time inside the cave. He only needed to step out twice, as each time he stepped out, he gathered enough food to feed a giant and all of his servants.

Lee watched as his friend trained the taijutsu stances that he taught her, several months ago, while on his meditation pose. She had honestly gotten a lot better than she was when he carried her inside. Up to this day, he still didn't understand why the cave granted her the healing ability so soon when it didn't grant it to him until eight months of solid training. Because it was granted to early, it was given the chance to grow and evolve. Back then, she was only able to heal minor flesh wounds and small scratches from shinobi tools. Now she was able to heal broken bones, large gashes, and was also granted stamina regeneration. Because of such power, she was given a near constant stream of energy so as to last longer during sparring matches and regain energy faster when she was down. Of course Lee has all these abilities but to a much higher degree.

Aside from that, Lee added a few extra pieces of clothing to himself. His torso was no longer bare, nor did he have his white vest. His torso now sported a mesh shirt and on top of it, a black, hard leather top with pectoral muscle and six pack designs, and long sleeves made of cloth that went all the way to his wrists. On top of those were arm guards that were similar to Tenten's, and guarding the same area. His hands now sported gloves made of a thin, cloth fabric and were also black. His white pants were now black, but still retained the same fabric. Just as Tenten had a face mask attached to her top, Lee had it as well. Both he and Tenten kept those masks under their top garments unless they were needed. In addition, a short, black sash hung on his neck and went all the way down to the middle of his back, acting as a small cape. On his hips was also a cloth wrapping that held his holster for his ninja tools, the case for his retractable staff, and two custom kunai blades, that were twice as long as regular kunai, which hung on his hips, one on each side.

Lastly, the red cloth on his forehead protector was changed to a black color and was tied over his forehead. He looked to the wall where he kept count of how many days had passed so far. Today marked the 365th day, the last day of their training session. When they leave the cave, they'd have just enough time to get to the academy and take the first phase of the test. Lee glanced back to Tenten.

*** (****A/N #2, see below for explanation****) *  
**

"Hey, I think it's about time we get going," he said. Tenten stopped a kick in mid air and looked to him, not placing her foot back down.

"Is it really time already?" she asked, obviously not wanting to leave. Lee nodded and stood from his meditation position. She probably didn't want to leave because she was so adamant on her dream of proving to the world that kunoichi are just as capable as shinobi. Lee could still remember when she said that, so long ago when they first became genin and Gai-sensei was asking them questions about their goals in life. Not many shinobi stand by their goals these days, and to see one that lives by it, was enough to make the boy smile. There were of course people like Naruto, but he's already a given. Tenten placed her leg down and pulled out one of her scrolls. She unrolled it and focused her chakra for a second. With a quick stroke of her hand, she pulled out a metal staff from the scroll. She placed the scroll back into her holster, completely rolled to its original state. Lee rolled his eyes.

"How 'bout it Lee? One more match before we go?" she asked. Lee sighed and pulled out his retractable staff and stretched it to about seven feet.

"Alright but after I beat you down, we go, promise?" he asked.

Tenten smirked and vanished from where she stood. By normal standards, she was moving very fast, but Lee could see her as if she was walking. He moved his staff to the left and blocked a rather strong kick. Tenten used his staff and the force of her attack and kicked from the staff, leaping a few feet away and charged at him. Both fighters engaged in an exchange of critical blows, moving faster and faster with each attack. Lee parried and dodged most of the attacks, taking in a couple here and there and noted how much better his partner had become... inside his mind of course. Tenten, however, received more damage to her body than Lee was taking. It was as if his staff was made from a type of metal that wasn't known to man. Being in a family of blacksmiths, Tenten has used almost every kind of metal that existed in the world and for the ones that she's never touched, she knew about and not once had she ever felt the kind of metal that Lee's staff was made of. According to how easily Lee carried it and how hard it was for her to do lift it, it must be infused with some kind of odd magic. Lee was able to land a kick on her shoulder, after parrying another attack. Tenten gave off a small gasp of pain but felt her bone being snapped back into place because of her healing ability, a couple of seconds later.

As her bone continued to heal, she began jabbing him with the tip of her staff, but he dodged a good number of them and blocked the rest. As he was defending himself, Tenten crouched down and swept him off of his feet. Surprised at the sudden action, Lee rolled to the side and dodged what would have been a very painful strike to his face. He pulled himself back up and struck Tenten's staff so hard that it bent and broke. Lee smirked and retracted his staff, placing it back in its holster and prepared himself for unarmed combat. Tenten was a bit surprised but tossed her broken weapon away. She formed one of her favorite stances, the Cat stance. Lee nodded and slipped into one of his own stances as well, the Monkey stance. Lee made the opening move by leaping into the air, spinning his body a full 360 degree rotation, and stretched his right leg out. As the kick made its way to his opponent, Tenten raised her left arm and blocked the kick. After successfully blocking it, she arched her back, supporting her body with her right arm and left leg. She lifted her right leg and aimed a kick to Lee's body, but was blocked with his palm, stopping her shin from hitting him. It was at that moment that she realized she was at a disadvantage.

When Lee's momentum faded, his body started weighing down on Tenten's. The girl knew that she could hold this position for days, but she didn't want to spend that much time. They still had the chunin exams to worry about. She pushed them both out of the lock and back-flipped, landing on the ground on her cat stance once again. Lee flipped in the air a couple of times and landed on his monkey stance again. Both fighters remained still for a little while before making another move. This time, it was Tenten who budged first. She started by running up to him and vanished, just as he raised his leg to kick her. She appeared to his left side and vanished again, appearing to his right side, backside, and above, but continued to zip around using her speed. Normal people wouldn't be able to see her speed unless they had byakugan or sharingan but even then it would be difficult to keep up with her. But for someone like Lee, it was no feat at all. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, sensing the vibrations in the air. Training in the cave taught Tenten to be unpredictable in combat, but it was Lee who taught her that and therefore knew where she was going to attack. His eyes shot open instantly and back kicked Tenten as she appeared behind him. Her body flew to the a wall and made a pretty large imprint. Tenten pulled herself out of the wall and looked to her opponent, feeling her wounds starting to heal.

"Man..." she trailed off, panting a bit from the previous increase in physical speed. "Am I ever going to catch you off guard?"

"Most likely not," Lee replied, walking to his sack of rations and other supplies. He kept a mental count at the length of time that they were sparring for and landed at a grand total of 10 minutes. It was a decent amount of time but he knew that it was now time to get going. He picked up his belongings and motioned for Tenten to do the same. She cracked her back a bit and walked to him after all of his muscles and bones were put back in place. It was actually amazing that she was able heal like Lee could, to a certain degree. When she picked up all of her belongings, she and Lee walked out of the village together. But right as they jumped through the waterfall, the cave began to collapse. Lee turned around, eyes widening, and watched as the entrance of the cave was covered with large boulders.

"What the... hell happened?" asked Lee.

"I'm guessing by your reaction that that's never happened before?" asked Tenten, still puzzled at what was going on. Lee shook his head but suddenly pieced a few things together. Maybe there's a reason as to why people that aren't of his clan are affected by the cave's defenses. It was to keep them out for a reason. And maybe that's why the cave granted her the healing ability right as she entered the cave. It's because it was the last gift that it would ever give to anyone, ever. Lee placed his belongings on the floor and motioned for Tenten to stay there as well. He walked up to the cave and knelt down, forming prayer position. He closed his eyes and prayed in silence for a few minutes. When he was finished, he walked back to Tenten and picked up his stuff.

"Well, we're not using that cave ever again. I guess there's a reason why people who aren't of my blood line are affected by the cave's enchantments. It's to keep them out," he said as he started walking back to the village. Tenten nodded, feeling a little apologetic, but followed him anyway. They both leaped atop the cliff, to the side, placing their face masks on, and sprinted their way back to the village. As they ran, Lee found his eyes tracing around Tenten's outfit and figure. He had to look away every now and then to keep himself from achieving a nose bleed. Her outfit and overall physical appearance was something that men would definitely drool at. Whenever he looked away, Tenten would sneak a glance to him as well. She found herself blushing at the incredible appearance that Lee now harbored. His outfit and defined muscle actually made him a rather nice thing to look at. And the way his sash drifted in the wind was a bonus. Both ninja kept their glances to themselves, unaware of what the other was thinking about. To keep the topic and her hormones in check, Tenten pulled out her permission slip from her sack of old clothes.

"Hey, we're supposed to meet with Neji at the academy grounds, right?" she asked. Lee looked to her and nodded. "We haven't seen him in a year, but he hasn't seen us in a week. Do you think he's gotten any stronger at all?"

"I hope so," Lee replied. "But I'm not too hopeful about it. I mean, what can a week of training really do for someone?"

"Yeah, I guess so. But I have to ask you something and I need you to give me your most honest opinion," she said, looking to his face. Lee's face now held a questioning look. Tenten blushed a bit, wondering if it was proper to even ask him this question. "Do you think... I've changed in the one year of training in that cave?"

Lee smiled and nodded.

"In that one year of training, you've reached a level of skill that no kunoichi in the leaf village can rival. And besides that," he said, unaware of his eyes trailing in and out of her evolved physical features. "Guys will be drooling all over you."

"Really? Do you mean that?" she asked.

"Yeah, definitely. But I'm not worried about you, I'm worried about them. Anyone who messes with you will eat dirt in the next two seconds," he replied. Tenten blushed again and was thankful that she was wearing her face mask so he couldn't see. Not only did Lee compliment her appearance, but he also complimented her skills as a kunoichi. She never really thought that she looked attractive in any way or form, at all. Actually, the way she saw it, kunoichi aren't supposed to be physically attractive, like Ino and Sakura. They looked alright but kunoichi, just like shinobi, are meant to fight, not straddle around and looking pretty to the eye. But as she further examined her appearance, she deduced that she didn't look to bad at all. According to Lee, she actually looked very attractive.

"You better watch our for yourself too, Lee," she said. "Girls will be crawling all over you if you're not careful."

"Is that a hint of jealousy that I'm hearing from your voice?" he asked, messing with her a bit. He knew that she would never be attracted to him like that, even if he wanted her to. Tenten is just a friend and nothing more. If anything, she would probably be attracted to Neji, who she had her eye on for a long time. She's never mentioned it, but he knew from how she looked at him when they were in missions. It sort of made him a bit sad to think about it, but he knew that their relationship would never extend to anything beyond that of friendship or companionship. The kunoichi's face flushed redder than a tomato as she heard what he just said. How was he able to read what she was thinking? Was it really that obvious? Or maybe she didn't work hard enough in hiding her feelings from the world? Either way, she didn't want him to know yet. Tenten prided herself as a kunoichi but if things would ever come to a time of peace... then maybe. She looked to him again. Lee is a definite maybe. Forget her crush for Neji, he didn't even exist in her mind right now.

"Don't be so full of yourself, Lee!" she exclaimed, wondering why she shouted at him. Instead of taking it offensively, Lee chuckled.

"Alright, alright, don't be so mad. I was just trying to lighten the mood," he replied.

"Eh? For what?"

"Well, you know, we're headed to the village to participate in the chunin exam. We haven't seen everyone in a whole year and there may even be a chance that we might fight them in the exam," he said. Tenten nodded, wiping out her previous thoughts from her mind. That stuff can wait, but there are more important things to think of right now. At the thought of fighting her friends in the exam, she wondered about something else.

"Lee... what if you and I fight in the exam?" she asked. Lee looked away, hoping that she wouldn't ask that question. To be honest, Lee was thinking about that while Tenten trained in the cave. He was hoping that he wouldn't have to fight Tenten because of their healing abilities. The fight would never end unless they actually tried to kill each other and he didn't want to have to go that far, even though he knew that even if he tried to kill Tenten, it probably wouldn't turn out that way. Tenten is too great of a fighter to be killed so easily, especially with her healing ability and enhanced skill and strength. But if push came to shove, he knew that he would have to take her down. Lee didn't even care about passing the exam. He just wanted to fight off whatever evil that would appear and keep the village safe. He turned back to face Tenten, who was still worriedly awaiting for his answer.

"If it ever comes to that... I guess all I can say is to give it your best shot," he replied. Tenten nodded slowly as she felt something burning from deep inside her. It was as if her body was telling her to do something. Without even thinking, she stopped her sprinting, grabbed Lee by the back of his shirt, lowered both of their face masks, and planted a kiss on his cheek. Lee blushed furiously as he caressed the spot where Tenten's lips connected. He slowly placed his mask back on and looked to her. Tenten found herself blushing as well, body heating up to rising levels, but she knew that that was what her body wanted her to do, and she didn't regret it. "Consider that a thank you for what you've done for me."

"Do I get more? I did train you for a year, you know," he said. Tenten raised her mask back up and smiled through it. She walked ahead of him and winked one eye before speeding off. Lee was right behind her, smiling through his mask as well. Who knows? Maybe his future wasn't so bleak after all?

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When both leaf ninjas arrived near the village gates, they hid behind a tree. Tenten formed a hand seal and used the transformation jutsu to transform back to her mother. When she stepped out of the tree, Lee followed as well. Lee sighed to himself. Maybe now that the cave of the Iron Monkey was of no further use to them, he could finally spend the time that he wanted in the leaf village. He was actually hoping to have further uses of the cave to make his other friends stronger, but that's no longer possible. Had he known about the penalties of bringing someone in there that didn't share his blood line, he would have brought in more than just Tenten. But even though the cave was no longer useable, he was at least glad that he was able to help her out. Tenten was now one step closer to achieving her dream. When they neared the village gates, a shinobi saw them walking closer and closer. He remembered that two people stepped out of the village to deliver shinobi weapons and tools to the land of wind, last week. He recognized the female as the mistress of the family of blacksmiths in the leave village, but the male next to her was unfamiliar to him.

"It's nice to see you again, mistress. I trust your delivery went smoothly?" he asked. For a second, Tenten actually forgot the excused that she and Lee used, a year ago. But when the chunin before them reminded her of it, the idea reentered her mind.

"Yes. Thank you for asking," she replied.

"So, what happened to your accomplice? And who's that new guy beside you?" he asked. Tenten turned to Lee and saw that he had his face mask on. When they left the village a year ago, Lee was wearing different clothes and didn't wear a face mask like he did now.

"Lee, why don't you show this man your face and your identification papers?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said as he pulled his face mask down. He also pulled out some identification papers from his sack of old clothes. He showed them to the man, who nodded in approval. "Sorry about the new clothes, I just thought that my old ones were too revealing and probably didn't offer enough protection."

The guard nodded again and gave the signal to the guards above to open the gate. Tenten (in disguise) and Lee nodded to the guards, who in turn nodded back. When the gates were open enough for them to enter, the went inside as the gates closed. Both leaf ninja walked behind a nearby house as Tenten dropped her disguise. Even though her chakra control and overall chakra capacity was increased from the training inside the cave, she still felt a bit dizzy from the jutsu, but was shaken off quickly due to her regeneration ability. Not wanting to catch any unwanted attention, both Lee and Tenten lowered their face masks and hid them under their upper garments. But even without the face masks, they still caught many pairs of eyes that seemed rather uncomfortable to them. They made their way to the academy, exam slips in their hands. When they arrived, they met up with Neji, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata. When Kiba and Neji saw Tenten, they immediately stopped talking. They also wondered who the other shinobi was that walked beside her. Both looked pretty intimidating. Lee looked to his comrade, who didn't look like he had changed much.

"Neji, it's been a while," he greeted, shaking his hand. Neji raised an eyebrow and wondered who this young man was. He looked to be around his own age but still looked unfamiliar. The female beside him walked up to the Hyuuga and embraced him.

"It's nice to see you again, Neji," she said as she broke the embrace and looked to the other genin. Kiba's mouth was already hitting the ground at the sight of the kunoichi before him. If the chunin exam was a beauty contest, she'd win, hands down.

"Just who are you two," asked the baffled Hyuuga.

"Aww, you don't remember us?" she asked. "It's me, Tenten. And that's Lee next to me."

Kiba's jaw fell even lower, if possible. He never imagined that Tenten could be so hot. The way her hair was tied to a pony tail and her rather skimpy choice of clothing was definitely something that would attract a lot of other males. Shino looked to both of them and pretended he didn't care. The last time he felt Tenten's aura, it was just like any other kunoichi... normal. Now it had grown, doubled or tripled in size. How was it possible that she gained such power in such a short amount of time? Neji sensed this as well and couldn't speak. Lee's he activated his byakugan and looked into their chakra system. They weren't in any transformation jutsus, which verified them of their true identities, but he just couldn't believe it. When he last saw Lee, his chakra system was resonating with so much raw power. But now, only a week later, his aura increased as if he trained for a much longer time. Tenten's aura wasn't anywhere as large as Lee's, but it made drastic improvements in the past week. He wondered if her aura somewhat matched his own, but shook it from his head. It isn't possible to attain that kind of power in just a week.

"What did you do to attain such a level of power?" Neji asked, looking to Tenten. He already accepted that Lee's aura was incredibly large but he had two and a half months to gain that kind of strength. As hard to believe as that was, two months is still a lot of time. What he truly wondered was how Tenten got so much stronger in one week.

"Just training with Lee," she replied. "There was a lot of things about taijutsu that I wanted to sharpen up on and I figured Lee would be a pretty good teacher in that field. I'd have asked Gai-sensei but he's not allowed to see us until today, right? I'd have asked you but you only use your gentle fist techniques and I probably wouldn't learn anything from that."

Neji nodded slowly, not fully accepting her answer, but let the subject slide.

"Anyway, we really should get going inside," said Lee. Neji and Tenten nodded as they were about to enter the academy, when Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji arrived. They were about to greet Kiba and his squad when Ino noticed the very attractive guy beside Neji. She also noticed a rather slutty looking chick and wondered who she was. Didn't Gai's team consist of Neji, Tenten, and Lee? So who were those other two? She shook the thought from her mind as she focused on the black clad shinobi.

"Wow, who's that guy? He's so hot!" she exclaimed. Hinata found herself playing with her fingers at the moment. She thought her fingers only did that when Naruto was around. But ever since she saw Lee last week, she found herself doing that a lot, even with Naruto's absence. Whenever she looked to Lee's direction, she felt her heart racing but found it to be odd. She was sure of her feelings for Naruto. So why was her heart doing this? Before Lee turned to face her, he could have sworn Tenten formed a rather noticeable grimace on her face. He smirked slightly but let the feeling go. He turned to the blond kunoichi and greeted her.

"Hey Ino," he said.

"You know me?" she asked, blushing to a red color. Tenten rolled her eyes and pulled Lee to her. For some reason, she couldn't stand it when Lee was talking to another girl. It couldn't be because of jealousy, as she wasn't interested in dating anyone at the moment, but didn't know what else it could possibly be. Ino ignored what the other kunoichi did and minded her own business. As team Gai walked inside the academy, more pairs of eyes made its way to them, especially to Lee and Tenten. Neji looked at his permission slip and read that the first phase of the exam would be on the third floor of the academy. On their way there, they saw a large group of people ahead, trying to proceed to their destination. Two others were there as well, blocking the entrance to the next floor. Lee took a closer look at the floor level and read 301.

"Hmph... a genjutsu, a very obvious one too," he said. Neji and Tenten nodded.

"We only went up one floor. I can't believe people are being fooled by such an obvious trick," said Neji. "And by the looks of it, the ones who made the genjutsu are those two runts, blocking the entrance. Do they really want to start trouble?"

"If they do, they're doing a pretty good job," said Tenten, who glanced at a clock to the side. "But hey, we've got plenty of time. Let's mess around with these guys a bit before proceeding."

"Doesn't matter to me. Just don't show too much of your abilities. I'd like to keep that a secret right now," said Neji. The group approached the mass of people but saw something that sort of killed their hopes for having a little bit of fun before the first phase of the exam. An unfamiliar squad was already there, doing what they planned to do to kill some time. They decided to mingle in the group and waited to see if anything interesting would happen. For a few minutes, no one could really get in with those two bozos blocking the way. Lee didn't really enjoy it when people got knocked around by a few punks like these guys. Neji didn't really care. And Tenten was polisher her daggers with a cloth while waiting for something cool to take place. Lee sighed and was about to step in and smack those two when Tenten blocked his path with her arm. Pointed her head to the side, not taking her eyes off of her dagger. Lee looked to where her head motioned to and and saw team Kakashi. Lee leaned on the wall and watched to see if they were going to do something to fix this.

"Little girls and weirdos like you, don't belong here. These exams will destroy you if you're not properly trained. And if you can't get passed us, there's no way you can even last in these exams. So do yourselves a favor and get lost," said one of the kids.

"Get out of my way," Sasuke rudely asked one of the kids who blocked the way. Naruto looked over to the genin students who were pushed around by these guys. If no one in the group would be willing to stand up to them, they must be really strong. "And while you're at it, dispel this lame genjutsu that you have here, I can see through your illusion so badly that it's too depressing to even be called a genjutsu. We're going to the third floor."

A few people in the ground sounded surprised at what Sasuke said, and tried to ensure each other that they were already on the third floor because of the sign on top. Neji rolled his eyes and gave himself a rather large facepalm. These guys can't be serious, can they? Why would their jonin teachers allow them to partake in the exam if they can't see through a horribly disguised genjutsu? They must be worse than the rookies that he heard about, who were taking the exam too. Now that he thought about it, Kakashi's squad is fresh out of the academy, easily qualifying them as the rookies that he heard so much about. So how were they able to see a genjutsu that none of these guys couldn't? It's a rather embarassing thought that they could see through something like this and the rest of these people couldn't. If this is what they had to compete with for the chunin exam, things are going to be so easy.

"Tell them Sakura. You have the best eyes and the best analytical skills in our squad. I know you saw right through this terribly done genjutsu," he said. Sakura looked to him for a second, wondering what he was talking about. She didn't catch that at all, but she didn't want to look bad in front of all these people and didn't want to prove Sasuke wrong. Sakura nodded to the kids who blocked their passage.

"Of course, I noticed it a mile away. This is surely a genjutsu. This is only the second floor," she said. The two students grimaced as they let their genjutsu down, allowing the group of genin in front of them to realize that there indeed was a genjutsu and there was a very large flaw in their analytical skills, unlike this group here.

"So you noticed our genjutsu... now let's see you handle this!" he shouted as he flipped in the air and formed a sommersault. He pulled his leg out and aimed for a kick to Sasuke. The Uchiha reacted to it by countering it with a kick of his own. Lee was about to intercede, not wanting this to turn out into an all out brawl, when Tenten blocked his path for the second time. Tenten, using her increased speed, moved out of the group. Moving at a pace that could not be seen by anyone but Lee, Tenten managed to get in between the two students and jumped in the center, their attacks coming in slow motion. Timing it right, Tenten jumped slightly and performed a splits in the air. The splits wasn't for show, but instead stopped Sasuke's kick with one foot and blocked the other guy's kick with her other foot. Tenten supported her body by applying some force on the legs of the two boys, using some chakra on her feet. Neji was astonished at Tenten's massive improvement during that single week of training. What in the world did Lee teach her to get so fast? Before he was able to blink, she was already there, having successfully stopped the attack. The shocked Hyuuga turned to his other comrade. He was just standing there, calm as if he had seen this kind of thing a thousand times. Something else that everyone noticed was that there wasn't such a large gap between Sasuke and the bully, earlier. The way Tenten executed her technique was flawless. She not only stopped the attack but created some space between both boys.

'Wow, I thought no one in that group could stand up to these guys. I wonder who she is...' thought Sakura. She looked at the kunoichi's outfit, who apparently didn't care about how other males would look at her. Her outfit looked so revealing in almost every possible way, but her figure made it so that her outfit seemed as though it was made specially for her. Sasuke was just as surprised as everyone else. Who is this girl anyway? She came out of no where and managed to stop his attack with one swift motion. And she was able to stop that other guy's attack too, so easily. Tenten pushed off of the two boys' legs and flipped in the air before landing back down to greet her two comrades, who were approaching her.

"Hey, what happened to keeping a low profile? Didn't I tell you to not intervene so as to hide our true abilities?" asked Neji, completely disregarding the fact that she was probably much faster than he was. Where this improvement came from and how it came to pass was unheard of. Perhaps he would ask Lee how he trained her. She did train with him for a week, after all. Naruto noticed how Neji scolded the girl as if he knew her. The only ones in his squad are Tenten and Lee, besides their jonin sensei, Gai. Contrary to popular belief of him being an idiot, Naruto actually understood a great deal of things, he just didn't express them properly. It had just dawned to her that the girl that Neji was scolding and the other guy beside him were probably Tenten and Lee. But what provoked the sudden change in their outfit? Lee and Tenten actually looked really cool, yet Neji looks so normal. The blond wondered if the Hyuuga was feeling really left out because his teammates actually look awesome.

"Sorry Neji. I saw Lee about to react when these two were about to collide but I guess I beat him to it," she said, laughing through a bit of it. Neji looked to Lee, as if about to ask him whether or not Tenten was telling the truth. Lee looked away in embarrassment and nodded a couple of times. Neji sighed, unable to find the ability to care anymore. But something else caught his eye. He knew that the pink-haired girl was clueless about the genjutsu, just by merely studying her body language. It was the blue clad boy who noticed it. Neji approached him.

"You, what's your name?" he asked. Sasuke turned to face him.

"I believe it's customary to give me your name before you ask me of mine," Sasuke calmly replied. Neji narrowed his eyes.

"You're a rookie aren't you? How old are you?" he asked.

"Why should I tell you? You haven't even given me your name yet," he said. Lee rolled his eyes and looked to Sasuke.

"You want his name first? His name is Neji Hyuuga of the esteemed Hyuuga clan. He is 14 years old, one year older than you and is the wielder of the kekkei genkai known as the byakugan. His jonin teacher is Gai-sensei," said Lee. Sasuke turned to the black clad shinobi instead. He didn't seem to look that much older than he was, so why did it seem like he was much wiser and more powerful than everyone else in this room? Lee looked over to the irritated Hyuuga. "He is named Sasuke Uchiha, the last surviving member of the once famed Uchiha clan. He is 13 years old, one year younger than us, and is the holder of an ancient kekkei genkai, the sharingan."

Sasuke was a bit surprised at how much this guy knew about him. What is he, a stalker? No, he doesn't seem like the type. When the girl from earlier stopped his kick, this guy came around from the group of people behind them, with his arms crossed over his chest, looking really calm. His outfit looks like he's a professional ninja, but looks can be deceiving. Naruto nodded at the information that the shinobi before him, had given. Having failed the academy exam three times, he was actually in the school as Neji and knew him to a certain degree. Being one year younger, however, he didn't know him that well but the aforementioned information sounded pretty solid. Also, he knew that the two ninjas dressed in black, save the kunoichi who had some crimson red here and there, were indeed Tenten and Lee, mostly because of how he knew Neji. They were in the same class together, while he was in the younger class with Sasuke, Sakura, and the rest of the rookie genin. Neji looked to his comrades.

"Alright, we better get moving. We've wasted enough time as it is," he said. Lee and Tenten nodded and followed their friend to the third floor, leaving a crowed of other people baffled at what they had just seen. Sakura was pretty shocked to the core as well. She didn't know that there would be kunoichi like this who were participating in the chunin exam. She knew that her skills were nothing compared to Sasuke's or even Naruto's, but she didn't want to let them down by stepping down from the exam and letting them take it on their own. After taking a few minutes to recover, team Kakashi proceeded to the next floor. The two genin who blocked the entrance from earlier, and were responsible for the genjutsu, smirked as a puff of white smoke covered their bodies, undoing their transformation jutsus. Their true identities were actually jonin who were merely testing the genin squads that wished to enter the first phase of the exam.

"That girl who stopped my kick, moved out of that crowd faster than the blink of an eye," said one of them.

"Yeah. She's from Gai's squad, isn't she?" asked the other.

"I think so. And that other guy who was clad in pure black clothing. He's that Lee kid, right? Gai's prized student?" the spiky haired jonin asked. His accomplice nodded.

"Yes. He and that girl seem to have hidden power that we don't know of yet. The one in white, the Hyuuga, he seems normal enough, but those other two seemed rather abnormal to me. We're going to have to keep a close watch on those other two, especially the male shinobi. His power seems frightening... but it's probably just me," he said. His partner nodded as they both vanished in another puff of white smoke.

Neji, Tenten, and Lee, climbed through what seemed like an endless set of stairs, making their way to the first part of the chunin exam, where they would meet their sensei, Gai. Neji remained silent as he thought about the sudden improvement of Tenten's skills and speed. How could such an improvement take place in one week? And that's not the only thing that he thought about. Lee's disappearance and sudden reappearance was another thing. Almost three months ago, when they went on that B rank mission and Lee fell off that cliff, before that, he wasn't able to lay a finger on him during their sparring matches. But when he returned, months later, he not only defeated Tenten, but also Neji as well. And to make things worse, the attack that Neji used on him, Lee made a miraculous recovery from it and turned it backed against his opponent. Where did Lee's power come from? How did he improve Tenten's abilities in just one week? And to top it all off, where did they get those cool looking outfits? His thoughts were later interrupted when they met their with their sensei at the end of the hall. Gai looked to them and smiled. He was a little surprised at Lee and Tenten's new outfits. He wondered why Lee kept changing his outfit but pushed the thought aside.

"I see you three have made it. Beyond these doors is the first phase of the chunin exam. I'm very proud of you three and I hope you do your very best in this exam. It isn't only I but others will be watching you and will be grading your performance. Remember, not everything in this exam is as it seems. Kakashi has told his squad this, and now I will repeat it to you three. A ninja must see through deception. Deception is a huge clue in this first exam. I can't tell you what I mean by it, that is left for you to figure out," he said as his squad nodded. Lee walked to the right side and Tenten walked to the left side, while Neji approached the middle. Before they opened the door, Gai cleared his throat, having one final thing to say. "Before you go, I want to wish you luck, but you've all trained very hard through the year that I held you back for. I'm sure you won't be needing it. So what I wanted to say was..."

He stopped for a second as he looked to Lee, then Tenten, then Neji. "Those are rather dashing outfits that the both of you have. Why don't you get a set of clothes like those too, Neji? The three of you would look very intimidating if you all harbored outfits similar to each other."

"Thanks, Gai-sensei, but no thanks. I like to feel unique, if you don't mind," said Neji. Although he said it, he was still feeling a slight pang of jealousy towards his two comrades. Their outfits did look pretty cool. It was a depressing thought to think about, but he knew that he was still just a kid. And kids sometimes get these jealousy feelings about their friends when they are doing or wearing something that make others feel out of the loop. The Hyuuga knew that it wasn't their intention, but he still wanted a set of clothes like those. Lee and Tenten didn't just look like professional ninjas. They also looked like master assassins. Said shinobi and kunoichi looked to their comrade and nodded to him. Neji nodded as well as his friends opened the door to the first phase of the chunin exam. When the door closed, Gai crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the wall. He was definitely proud of his students and indeed wished them the best of luck. He hoped that they would look after each other while in the chunin exam, even if the unfortunate event were to come to pass that they were pitted against each other. They are one group, one squad, one family. He knew that whether they pass or fail, they would continue to make him proud.

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* (A/N: #1) * = **(A/N: If you couldn't understand her clothing description, just think Kaede from Onimusha Warlords. The undershirt and top are both sleeveless and black, but the undershirt is made of cloth, while the top is made of soft leather. The high socks are black but the straps around the shin area are crimson, along with the arm guards and the skirt. She also has black coverings on her arms and the arm guards are right on top. Like and unlike Kaede, Tenten has cloth wrappings that is wrapped around her hips, not her waist, to hold the daggers on her back and other ninja tools, and to help keep her top garment on. Her top garment has clippings to keep itself on, but the sash just helps.**

* (A/N: #2) * = **(A/N: It has now just dawned to me how much I used the black color. I'm so unoriginal, but this was the best look that I found while playing my video games and they are ninjas after all, right? Sorry XP)**

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I apologize if you guys wanted me to include the part where Lee and Tenten were training in the cave. I could have done it, but I have other plans for this story that needs attention. If none of you have realized it by now, there probably will be a mary-sue in this story, but I have reasons for what I'm doing. I've already thought of an ending for this story, but that won't come until way way way way later. If you guys don't like any of this overpowering thing, I can understand. But I'm not going to change the plotline, no matter what anyone says. Sorry if that sounded a bit harsh.

Ja ne!


	7. Chapter 7

**Legend of the Iron Monkey**

**Naruto Fanfiction**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a single shred of Naruto.**

**Chapter 7: Confessions of a Teenage Kunoichi  
**

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When team Gai entered the room, there were hundreds of pairs of eyes, on them. They didn't know if it was because they were making a scene by being the new squad to enter, but the stares were getting pretty annoying. Lee looked to the crowd and saw many pairs of eyes, going to Tenten's direction, mainly the male population of the crowd. A lot of female eyes were on him as well, not that he minded of course, but he didn't have time for these nonsense games. As they were about to take their seats, one male, seemingly older than the rest of them, jumped out from the crowd and walked up to Tenten. He smiled at her seductively, looking up and down her hourglass figure. He had to admit, that outfit really did make her look extremely sexy. He didn't know her, but he didn't care at the moment. He was one of those types who were simply looking for a bit of fun. Tenten rolled her eyes... great, another pompus scumbag who wants to get hurt. She wondered if this chunin exam was filled with guys like these.

"Hey, why don't we get out of here and do something a little personal? There's a lot of time until the first exam starts," he said. Lee sighed to himself, crossing his arms over his chest, and stepped in. He really didn't want this guy to get hurt, knowing he trained Tenten very well.

"You don't want to do that, trust me. Staring is fine, and although she doesn't like it, she can't do anything about it until you touch her. And when you do, I won't be able to stop her because a lot of people in this crowd will agree with me that you'll probably deserve it. So do yourself a favor now and back off," he said. Neji's eyes moved to said teammate and took a few steps back. From what he's seen with his two teammates, they were far more skilled than they've been showing recently and he didn't want to get in the middle of it. The other guy narrowed his eyes for a second, looking to Lee.

"Why don't you mind your own business, you little punk?" he rudely asked. He turned back to Tenten and licked his lips. He was about to place his hand on her shoulder when he found himself in a rather painful position, a second later. His body was on the ground and Tenten had his hands secured, twisting them slowly, while pressing her knees to his back, causing additional pain. Lee walked over to the young man and knelt to him.

"Told you so. Now you face her wrath," he said. For the umpteenth time in the day, Neji was surprised with Tenten and Lee. He didn't even blink and Tenten already had this guy begging for mercy. He looked over to Lee, again, looking as calm as he was before. How could he be so calm when his own teammate has improved so much? It wasn't that the Hyuuga was scared, far from it. He was more of jealous at how Tenten achieved such speed and power in just one week of training. As Lee walked back to his original spot, Tenten pressed her knee harder. When things seemed to be going too far, the young man's teammates jumped from the crowd and aimed to attack Tenten. Said kunoichi's eyes moved to one of them, and then the other. Faster than the blink of an eye, she was stepping on the first guy, had the second guy pinned to a wall, and had the third guy pinned to the opposite wall that the second guy was pinned to. Much to everyone's surprise, there were three Tentens.

"Shadow clones?" asked Neji. "It's impossible. That's a jonin level technique. How did she get her hands on that kind of jutsu?"

"Those aren't shadow clones, my friend. She's just moving really, really fast," Lee calmly stated. Neji glared at him now, tired of his antics. It shouldn't be possible that Tenten improved this much and according to how confident Lee was speaking, could it be that he was capable of the same thing too?

"So why is it that you don't seem so shocked? Are you telling me that this speed is nothing to you?" he asked, trying to contain his anger. There's no way he would allow the Hyuuga clan to lose to these people, even if they are his teammates. Lee smiled at him slightly.

"Oh yeah. This speed is nothing to her and it's child's play to me. She can go so much faster than this, you wouldn't believe it. And speed isn't the only aspect that she improved on, that I can promise you. If you ever meet her in combat, don't expect the same Tenten that you saw a week ago. She's much stronger now," he said. Neji chose to remain silent after that. Lee seemed so sure of his answer and as of now, after seeing what he and Tenten were capable of, he couldn't find a single bone in his body that would disagree with them. Could it be that they have surpassed him in every way? He knew that he wasn't capable of the speed that Tenten is going at, right now. And if what Lee said is right about the rest of her abilities improving and not just her speed, could it really mean that she achieved power greater than even his own? Neji inwardly nodded to himself. Due to the pride of his clan and his own pride, he knew that asking them for help would be difficult, but he wanted to become stronger too. Lee stepped forward to Tenten and held her by the arm. She looked to him with disappointment as the replicas of her vanished, proving once more that they weren't shadow clones but just her incredible speed.

"Alright, that's enough. I think they've had enough punishment," he said.

"But you said you wouldn't intervene with it if he touched me," she replied sourly.

"He tried to touch you, but failed in doing so," he said. Tenten looked at him strangely as if trying to comprehend what he just said. A couple of seconds later, she remembered that the guy indeed tried to touch her but his hand never landed on her skin. The leaf kunoichi sighed.

"So if I allowed him to touch me, you wouldn't interfere?"

"Would I ever lie to you?" he asked causing her to flush hard. Tenten giggled and removed her foot from the unfortunate young man. It took them a few seconds to recover from the shock until the two other teammates collapsed on the ground. Tenten smiled playfully.

"I guess not, my mistake. We should find some seats then, shouldn't we?" she asked as she moved vanished and appeared behind Lee. She placed her hands on his shoulders and started pushing him to some seats that she spotted at the corner of her eye. She turned to Neji slightly. "Hey, hurry up or you're going to be left behind!"

'I think I've already been left behind...' Neji thought to himself sadly. He nodded to her and followed them.

The seats that they were going to had actually belonged to the team that tried to harass Tenten. In a sense, her two other teammates had to thank her for finding them some seats, even if it meant the cost of the three others who no longer had anywhere to sit. The surrounding shinobi and kunoichi looked to them all and and moved back a bit. They were really catching some unwanted attention and Neji was getting sick of it. Lee didn't particularly care, nor did Tenten. Unknown to their knowledge, two of the rookie teams had arrived there before they did. They probably took a different entrance to get here, that's why they made it there without being seen. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the display of actions that he had just seen. Since when did Tenten get so fast? And why does Lee seem so calm about it? It's like he's been through this kind of thing already and it's child's play to him. If that's right, then this exam may truly be living up to its reputation about including some very powerful shinobi. The lazy genius sighed to himself, knowing things were about to get uglier than they've already been. He was about to take a nap when team seven arrived. He was wondering what was taking them so long. He looked to his teammates and friends, and nodded. They stood up and greeted their fellow rookie comrades.

As the rookies mingled with each other, Lee scanned his surroundings once more but in a much slower pace, so as to not attract anymore pairs of eyes to his direction. The room seemed to be full of very uninteresting shinobi and kunoichi, few of which even caught his interest. His eyes moved to a group of people who wore forehead protectors that he had never seen before. They seemed to be wearing army style clothing. There was one girl with very long hair and a sleeveless top, one guy with spiky hair and a longsleeve top, and one other guy who sort of caught some of the taijutsu master's interest. Most of the third guy's face was covered in white wrappings. He had longsleeves but perhaps too long for his own arms. Lee wondered why he would wear such a garb with such length. Wouldn't something like that hinder his performance in battle? The Iron Monkey shrugged to himself as his eyes moved to another group. It was those siblings from last year... well, last week technically. The blond girl with a large fan on her back, the black clad guy with face painting and something that looked heavy on his back. Lastly, there was that redhead with the big gourd on his back. What was it with those three and carrying something so heavy?

There wasn't much of anyone else that caught his interest. His mind couldn't stop thinking about the redhead... what was his name... Gaara? There was something abnormal about this one but he didn't know what. It was actually the aura that resonated within him that was bothering the taijutsu master. It was so dark and so full of death and emptiness. The life that this boy led must have been nothing but sadness and despair, if his aura resonated with such negative emotions. It's like he wanted nothing more than to rid the world of all human life but why would anyone wish for that? Humans live in this world for a reason and no one should have the right to take their lives away. Truly, this guy was someone to watch over. His power, unlike the two others from his village, is off the charts. But that's not to say his teammates are completely weak either. They're strong, for sure, but at least their strength seems like it can be achieved through normal means of training and a bit of hard work. He sighed to himself again and was about to relax a bit when one other shinobi caught his eye. It was a silver haired one with glasses. Lee's eyes widened. Silver hair?! Only Kakashi has silver hair in the leaf village... could this be... the right hand man of whom the prisoners spoke of? Tenten noticed her friend's uneasiness and scooted to him.

"Hey, are you ok?" she asked. Lee looked to her.

"Oh, um... yeah, I'm fine," he said. Tenten narrowed her eyes at him raised one eyebrow.

"What did you say earlier about not lying to me?" she asked. Damn, she got him there.

"Alright, alright. You see that silver haired guy over there?" he asked, pointing at him. Tenten nodded. "Well, remember the shinobi and kunoichi from the village hidden in the clouds? They were captured on the day of my disappearance, almost three months ago. I spoke to them and they said that they were hired by someone to retrieve me alive or dead. They talked about some guy with pale skin, long black hair, and snake-like eyes but that's not that point right now. According to them, this snake man has a right hand man. They said that he has silver haid and wears glasses. I'm almost certain that only Kakashi-sensei has silver hair, in this entire leaf village. I was just wondering if that guy over there could be the snake man's right hand man. Maybe I can get some answers off of him."

Tenten nodded at him, accepting his explanation. The shinobi and kunoichi who were responsible for his disappearance were indeed captured and were being held in a prison where the criminals of the leaf village reside. No one was really allowed to talk with them unless given special permission from the Hokage. She remembered that Gai talked to them once but couldn't get anything useful out of them. So how did Lee succeed where Gai couldn't? Tenten huffed at herself, cursing at herself for even thinking about that question. It's because Lee is amazing, and the one year of training inside the cave told her that. She realized skill and strength from her comrade that she had never seen in anyone in her life. But it wasn't just that that she noticed within him. There was so much going on about him that she couldn't describe. She knew that she had gotten closer to him in that cave, than anyone in her whole life. There were things that she trusted him about that she would never trust with anyone else.

Now that she thought about it, he was the closest male that she had ever gotten close to, even closer than she could ever get with Neji. Unlike Neji, Lee was willing to share whatever he could. He offered to help her train where Neji would never. It had just dawned to her now that Lee was sort of like her guardian angel. He protected her that day, almost three months ago, he looked out for her and helped her to be strong. And what did she ever do for him? In the past, she would always agree with Neji, just as that Sakura girl would always agree with the Uchiha. She wasn't as attached to Neji as Sakura was with Sasuke, but she knew that at the time, she would do anything for the Hyuuga. But all those times that Lee was there for her where Neji would just turn his back, really changed her views about him, and Neji. She thought Neji was like some knight in shining armor, but she overlooked the one person who was always looking out for her and helping her out. Neji wasn't a bad person, but not good either. Lee has and always had pure intentions for everything that he did. He didn't grow up with parents but he still turned out better than most people have. Just then, she felt something jabbing at her side. It was Lee's finger.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"I should be asking you that. You kind of spaced out on me for a couple of minutes," he replied.

"Sorry, I was just thinking. Nothing to worry about," she said. Lee was about to say something else when something caught his eye. The mysterious ninjas from earlier, with the army style outfits, moved out of their seats. They were moving at a moderately fast pace but not too fast. It was fast enough for the people in the middle of the room to not notice, but not fast enough for Lee and Tenten to catch up on. Tenten was about to move when Lee placed his hand on her thigh, pushing her down. She kind of blushed at where Lee's hand was but chose to think nothing of it. From the look of his face, it probably didn't even occur to him where his hand was placed on. As the mysterious ninjas made their way to the rookies, Lee zipped from his seat and to the group in front. He pulled out his staff and increased the length to seven feet. He placed his staff in front of the kunoichi and the spiky haired shinobi, blocking their path. Before they were able to turn to see who had impeded their path, Lee grabbed the back of the last shinobi's shirt, stopping what looked like an attack to the silver haired young man. Lee didn't want anyone to be harmed in any way.

"Hey, hey, I saw what you guys were about to do. Why don't we all just sit down, alright?" he asked.

"This fool insulted the shinobi of the sound village. We just wanted to talk to him, that's all," he said.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it and I saw what you were about to do. You weren't going to talk to him and if you were, you wouldn't have prepared to strike him down just now. Violence to quell violence doesn't equal peace. If you wanted to talk to him, you would have walked up to him like a normal person instead of striking the poor guy," he said. The shinobi with the white wrappings on his head, turned around to face the leaf shinobi. Lee retracted his staff and placed it back into its container.

"The name's Dosu, of the Sound. What's yours?" he asked.

"Lee, of the Leaf," he replied. Dosu nodded.

"Your speed is impressive, one to keep a close eye on. I saw you a week ago while my squad and I examined the Uchiha and the sand kid. Those two are both worthy of my attention and as it stands, so are you. Remember my name, as I'm sure we will meet again," he said. Lee nodded as Dosu and his squad returned to their seats. Lee was about to do the same when the silver haired shinobi walked up to him.

"Hey, thanks for what you did earlier. You really saved me from a lot of trouble with those guys. My name is Kabuto, by the way," he said, extending his hand out. Lee nodded and shook his hand as well.

"My name is--" he was about to say his name, but was interrupted when a large explosion of smoke, filled the opposite side of the room. Lee removed his hand from Kabuto's and looked to where the smoke was held. When the smoke was gone, at least ten adult shinobi of the leaf village, appeared. One of them had his forehead protector covering his entire head and wore a large trench coat. The others wore matching attires; a buttoned long sleeve and a pair of pants.

"Alright you pine-faced degenerates, listen up!" shouted the man in the middle. "I am Ibiki Morino and I will be your test proctor for this portion of the chunin exam. Although you're in the chunin exam, this is no place to display any behavior of irrational judgment! The use of excessive force is strictly prohibited, unless allowed by an instructor and even then, the use of fatal force is restricted!!"

"Sorry, just got a bit excited is all," said Dosu. The older man glared at him.

"You are lucky that the leaf genin stopped you and your squad. If you were to lay a single finger on your target, you'd have been out of this room before anyone can say shinobi," he said. Dosu grinned and nodded. "As for the rest of you, you will each bring up your permission slips to the front desk where you'll be given a number in return. These numbers will tell you which seat you will sit your butts down for the written portion of this exam."

Every genin in the room nodded, save one orange-clad shinobi. One by one, they received their numbers, test papers, and one pencil. As if rehearsed, they all searched for their numbers and sat down on their respective seats. Lee noticed that they were all seated in a random order and saw that no student was next to someone that belonged to their squad Tenten was three rows behind him, sitting at the middle. Lee sat in the middle row to the far left. Neji was four rows in front of him, who sat in the far right. It was a near perfect triangle position but that wasn't the point. He looked over his test and read the first question in his mind. The 10 years of training in the cave wasn't just spent on training the body, but the mind as well. He sort of understood the layout of the questions but knew that they were questions that genin couldn't possibly be expected to answer. Just as he read through the following questions, he also paid close attention to what the test proctor was saying regarding the rules of the exam.

"Pay attention! This test has a few rules to it and I will not answer any questions, so you better listen good. Contrary to what you're probably used to, you each start off with the maximum of 10 points. Each question is worth one point, and so, one point will be subtracted from your total score for each answer you get wrong. As for the second rule, teams will be graded as an entire squad, not individually. The third rule regards the 14 sentinels placed around you have eyes that are sharper than that of eagles. They will subtract two points from your score for every time they catch you cheating. Those caught cheating have no right to be here or to be called shinobi of any village. If they catch you cheating five times, you're out of here and so is the rest of your squad."

"What?! That isn't fair!" shouted someone from the back. "Why should I be taken down if someone in my squad messes up?"

"Silence, you little runt and pay attention!" shouted Ibiki. The genin growled a bit but sat back down. "Lastly, the fourth rule is, if any single person in your group manages to get a zero in his or her exam, the whole team is disqualified. Those numbers will be recorded by the sentinels and escort that squad out of the room. For those of you who have taken the intiative to look over your test papers, you'll notice that there are only nine questions. The 10th question will be revealed 15 minutes before the end of the exam... begin!"

The genin in the room grabbed their pencils and started working on their exams. As Ibiki finished explaning the rules to the written portion of the exam, Lee had just about finished reading the 9th question on the exam sheet. Each problem was more difficult than the one before and each one requires expert analysis and mastery with the shinobi arts. These aren't problems meant for genin to answer, it can't be. Lee admitted to himself that he should be able to answer the first four or five on his own but the problems after that are simply too difficult to get without... no. The Iron Monkey almost hit himself but stopped immediately for fear that the sentinels may count that as... cheating. This is a room full of genin, so why would the test require knowledge that only advanced shinobi would have? Genin are still in the trainee level and shouldn't be expected to answer any of these questions. Just then, and idea appeared in the young man's mind. Why only two points subtracted from the total score if someone was caught cheating? If someone is caught cheating, shouldn't that be grounds for failure, on the spot?

Lee's eyes widened as his eyes moved from side to side, looking at each sentinel. Each one of them looked to be of jonin rank, maybe ANBU. If their eyes are as sharp as Ibiki says, they should be able to-- uh oh... someone just got caught. So what's with this cheating thing? And why only two points removed from the final score? It makes no sense unless they actually want us to... 'No way!' Lee thought in his mind. Could it be that this test is designed to dare us to cheat without getting caught? If that's right, then it all makes sense. The difficult questions, only two points subtracted from the total score with each incident of cheating... that's it! It's just as Gai-sensei said. Seeing through deception really is the clue to solving the puzzle that was hidden in this exam. It's a clever idea but he didn't think much of anyone who knew the brilliant truth of what this test is all about. It was hidden so well that it was almost impossible to unveil the truth. Lee looked to Neji, from the corner of his eye. Neji turned his head slightly to the left and nodded to Lee. So he's guessed it too. Tenten isn't dull at all so she's probably aware of the circumstances of this exam. So now that that's figured out, the next question is, who's got the answers to this exam? There must be at least a few here to cheat from that actually know the answers or else cheating would be meaningless.

Lee looked around him. Not many were even passed the first question. As he contemplated his thoughts, he was already answering the ones that he was able to answer. When he reached number five, he knew that he couldn't go on any more. The questions became far too difficult. As his eyes moved around, he could hear something fixating itself from above his head. He tilted his head up, just enough for his eyes to see what it was that was going on above him. There was a mirror there, beside the light bulb. There were also near invisible strings attached to the mirrors. No ordinary shinobi would be able to see those strings. They were probably from Tenten. She must have found a way to cheat and who to cheat from. Lee squinted his eyes and noticed that the test paper was coming from Shino, from team Kurenai. From the looks of his paper, the first two answers are similar to his own but the ones after that were different, probably wrong. Lee removed his forehead protector and placed it in front of him, right at the angle where it would reflect whatever the mirrors above were reflecting. When they were finally adjusted properly, he was able to fully see Shino's answers.

As the minutes passed, several other squads were excused from the room for cheating. These sentinels are really sharp with their eyes after all. Even as Lee was finishing his 9th question, he too was able to catch a few near him, cheating but so obviously. He figured that if he could see those guys cheating, the sentinels could as well. More than half of the people that were present, were gone and more were still going. As for his comrades, if Tenten was the one aiding him in this exam, surely she wasn't too far off with answering the questions, probably finished by now. Neji had it the easiest because of his byakugan. All he really has to do is activate it and see right through someone. And even though his target is really far from where he's sitting, the byakugan allows him to see much farther than everyone else. His eyes truly are a gift to him... he's a true cheater, if anything. But alas, that's what this portion of the chunin exam requests. To cheat without getting caught and Neji's kekkei genkai helped him to do that easily. As Lee finished his exam, he dropped his pencil and flipped his paper down so as to remove any unwary eyes from his answers. When there were only 15 minutes left for the test, Ibiki spoke up.

"Alright, now that the hopeless cases are gone, it's time for the main event. It's time for the 10th question," he said as the candidates in the room, looked up. "Listen up and listen well. There are more rules that you must learn before taking the 10th question. The first one is, you can choose to skip this question. But by doing so, regardless of how many correct answers you have with the other nine questions, you and your squad will fail the exam. The second rule is you can take the 10th question but if you answer it incorrectly, not only will you or your squad fail the exam, but I will see to it that you'll be barred from taking any future chunin exams for the rest of your life!"

"What?!" shouted Kiba, standing from his seat. Truth be told, Lee was about to do that as well, but Kiba just beat him to it. "That's complete and utter bullshit! Lots of people have been here before and have taken the exam multiple times. Now you're saying that you're taking that oppotunity away from those who can't answer this last question of your stupid test? That's unfair and you know it!"

"Well, I guess you're just very unfortunate then. I wasn't the test proctor last year, but I am now. As I was saying before, will you take the 10th question or skip it?" he said in a rather creepy tone. Kiba grimaced but sat back down. Everyone remained silent after that, quietly contemplating their decision on whether or not to take the 10th question or skip it. Skipping it is the safe bet, which fails them but allows them to take the test again next year or whenever it is held next. But if they took the 10th question and answered it incorrectly, they would be banned from further chunin exams. It's a no win situation, well, almost. Taking the question gives them a chance at passing, but not a very good one. Each question on the test paper was harder than the previous one. So that would mean that the 10th question would be harder than the question that Lee was unable to answer on his own. There's a chance to pass it, but not a very good one. Skipping the question is a total loss. But trying to answer it only grants a five percent chance in passing, if even that much. As Lee contemplated on his answer, one person stood.

"Sorry, that's too much for me to handle. This test's questions are more difficult than the last and I can't risk getting it wrong. So I give up. I'm sorry guys," he said. His two other teammates stood up, eyes closed in shame. They were disappointed in their teammate for giving up but also in themselves for thinking the same thing. As they walked out of the room, more and more squads did the same thing. When enough squads were gone from fear of getting the 10th question wrong, Ibiki looked around him for any more losers who aren't brave enough to answer a simple yet extremely difficult question. When he thought that no one else was going to volunteer and take the safe way out, a boy in an orange jumpsuit, slowly raised his hand. Sakura and Sasuke were a bit surprised, but not too much, given the rules of the 10th question. Naruto wanted to become the Hokage and if he couldn't even become a chunin, that would kill his chances of ever becoming one. Ibiki smirked, there goes one more te-- bam! Naruto slammed his palm on his desk and glared at the test proctor.

"No way, I never quit and I'll never give up! You can throw all the questions you want at me and beat me down all you want. I'll always stand and fight for what I believe in. This test won't stop me from ever fulfilling my dream and nothing will! I don't care what question it is or if it's harder than the ones before it. I'll take it head on and stand proud. Even if I get it wrong and stay a genin for the rest of my life..." he trailed off, standing up on his feet. "... I'll still become the greatest Hokage that this village has ever seen!"

Ibiki narrowed his eyes at him.

"Are you sure? You can still turn back now and take the test next time. I may not be the proctor then and you'll have a proper chance at taking a real test without any of these bogus rules. Are you really going to attempt to answer a question that you might fail to answer and ban yourself from ever becoming a chunin?" he asked, trying to bend the boy's mind. But it was futile. Naruto's mind may not be the sharpest in the shed but his resolve is stronger than steel. Not even Ibiki could break his will.

"I will never back down on my word. That is the way of the shinobi!" Naruto exclaimed as he sat back down on his seat. Lee was absolutely blown away at Naruto's resolve. He may not be the most skilled shinobi around, but resolve like that doesn't just grow within anyone. That outburst of his actually inspired courage into the rest of the genin in the room. They were no longer shaking, no longer quivering. It was like Naruto was their general and they were willing to follow him to war and place their faith in him. Naruto didn't disappoint and that's what gave everyone the courage they needed. The test proctor looked around him, noting 78 people that were still left. He wanted to wait to see if anyone was still going to give up but was convinced that no one else would, after that outburst. He looked to his sentinels, who smiled and nodded to him. Ibiki nodded back.

"Now that those weaklings are gone, the only thing for me left to say to you all is..." he trailed off. This is it, thought most of the remaining ninja in the room. He's going to give the final question. The matter how difficult it is, they'd always be a ninja in the end. "... You've all passed the first exam!"

'... What...?' Lee thought to himself. So where's the 10th question? What is it?

"Wait, time out, what happened to the 10th question?" asked a kunoichi in the back. Ibiki grinned widely, taking extreme pleasure in watching as how the genin in the room would squirm at his cheap antics that he considered fun.

"There never was a 10th question, not a written one at least. Well, if you really must know, the 10th question was when I asked you whether or not you will take it," he said.

Most of the genin didn't understand, especially their general, Naruto. Upon hearing that, Lee nodded. So that was the 10th question... why didn't he see it before? It was literally the last question that Ibiki asked, right after answering to Kiba's complaint. It was so well masked that not even he was able to see it. This was the first time that he had met Ibiki and already he had earned the respect of the Iron Monkey. Not just anyone can mess with people's minds like he can. Lee reminded himself to ask his sensei after being excused from this exam. Perhaps Gai-sensei would know more about this Ibiki Morino fellow. Ibiki went on and lectured about what it takes to be a true chunin and Lee found himself listening to every word without getting bored of it. Everything that came out of this man's mouth was interesting and made a lot of sense. When he finished, Lee sensed someone... or something... coming their way really fast. He placed his hands on the kunai blades that hung on the sides of his hips, readying himself for what may happen. The window to their left shattered to pieces and from it entered a woman, a kunoichi with purple hair, a fish net shirt, and a long, brown trench coat. She released what looked like a black blanket with her name on it. Considering she isn't a genin or even a chunin, for that matter, what jonin would that childish?

Tenten narrowed her eyes at the kunoichi in front of her. Was she trying to win the attention of every guy in this room? It felt pretty good to have their eyes off of her but that's not what Tenten cared about. For some odd reason which she couldn't explain, she didn't mind if Lee looked at her in the way that the other guys in the room would. Although he would never do it, she felt as though she wouldn't mind if he did. She didn't know why though. The privacy of a girl is one of the most sacred things among humans. When Lee placed his hand on her thigh earlier, that was definitely the wrong place to put his or anyone's hand on. But Tenten couldn't seem to care if it was him. It wasn't because it wasn't his intention to place his hand there that caused her to not think about punishing him for it, earlier. There was another reason, but one that not even she could point out. She admitted to herself earlier that they had gotten very close while training in the cave and Lee was probably the only person in her 14 years, well technically 15, that she would entrust her life to. He helped her to achieve skill and strength that no one could grant for her, no matter how much she pleaded. Not even her sensei was able to make her as strong as Lee was able to and she was forever grateful to him for it. Maybe the reason isn't because she owed him for what he did. Maybe there's a deeper reason to that, if only she knew what it was.

"Alright you little babies, listen up! My name is Anko Mitarashi, and I will be your test proctor for the second part of the exam!" she shouted to the room. The sentinels rolled their eyes at the outburst of their colleague. Ibiki spoke from behind the sheets, telling her that she was early. Anko shrugged it off and glanced at all of the remaining candidates for the chunin exam. "Look at all this, there's so many of them. You're getting soft, Ibiki."

"Or, there's actually a fairly competent group this year," he replied.

"Well whatever it is, after I'm through with them, over half of them will fail," she assured. A few of the genin candidates were a bit surprised but a select few weren't. The shinobi and kunoichi who weren't surprised just remained seated, unafraid of what was to come. "Your jonin teachers are aware of the meeting place of the second part of your exam. It will be held tomorrow. So get some rest, you'll need it if you're to survive tomorrow. Dismissed!"

With that, the loudmouth special jonin vanished in a puff of smoke, taking her blanket with her. The genin were all escorted out of the room by the sentinels. Lee took a breath of air when he walked outside. The written portion didn't bother him one bit, as he was quickly able to realize the true meaning of the exam. Their second proctor, Anko, mentioned that the second part of the exam's location was known only to their jonin teachers. The remaining genin regrouped and made their way out of the building. Before he was able to find his group, however, his group found him. Neji granted him one of his rarest smiles as he walked ahead of the two. Tenten tackled Lee and gripped his shoulders with her arms. He could tell that she was excited to have passed the test. He had to admit though, it was quite nerve wracking to have all of those sentinels watch you for everything that you did so he could understand how Tenten was feeling. As they started their walk out of the building, Tenten turned to face her comrade, who looked to be in deep thought. She nudged him with her elbow but found that he blocked it with his palm, without even looking. Lee felt his arm move and looked to his friend.

"Something wrong, Tenten?" he asked.

"Nothing's wrong I just wanted to ask you of something and I want your honest answer," she said, slowly turning red in the face.

"Okay, what's up?" he asked.

"Did you... were you..." she stuttered, unable to find the proper words to use for her question. Tenten found her fingers playing around, just as Neji's cousin, Hinata, would. Why was she so nervous to ask the question? "Um... did you... were you examining that woman's appearance?"

Lee's eyebrows sunk a bit, wondering what kind of question that was. Well, it's a legitimate question, but why would she care for such a thing? Lee took a large inhale and exhaled it right out. Why would Tenten ask him such a question? Was she that curious at what it was that he was thinking about? Or in this case, looking at? It couldn't be... that... can it? Lee smirked to himself, wanting to test the theory. He knew that it wasn't possible though. But he wanted to try something out, just to spark a bit of entertainment.

"What's it to you? What if I did?" he asked, teasing her to give in. Tenten's face ran through ever shade of red that was known to human kind. She knew what he was doing and she was falling for it. Why did she care so much anyway? Who cares if he was looking at Anko's... no! But he's a guy too, after all. She shouldn't be able to stop what he can or can't look at. It's not like they're... dating. She did get close to him during her training but she only thought of him as a friend. But now that she thought about it, she only thought as Neji as a friend too, no longer harboring the romantic feelings that she had for him. So if she didn't like Lee as more than a friend or a brother, why did her body allow Lee to touch her in a spot where she shouldn't have allowed any man to touch? Why was it that her mind allowed Lee to do what he did? Only girlfriends allow that from their boyfriends, right? Tenten sighed to herself. Even if she was interested in having a boyfriend, she didn't have the time for it. She was too busy for that kind of thing. So why was her mind and body disagreeing with each other? Her body told her to go for it but her mind refused. The bigger problem is, she didn't know which one to believe.

"I don't care. What makes you think I would care?" she asked.

"I don't know. Why are you asking? You seem interested to know what I was or wasn't looking at. If you aren't interested, you wouldn't be asking, would you?" he asked. Tenten blushed once more but managed to push the blood down from her face and back down to her body. She could swear that her skin was turning a bit pale from all this blushing. How was it that Lee was able to do this to her? How can he make her body react in ways that even she didn't know? She knew he wasn't doing it intentionally, how would he know how her body worked anyway?

"Well, in any case, I wasn't looking at that. Come on Tenten, that woman is way too old for me and I'm not interested in getting a girlfriend right now. There's far more important things for me to consider and think about it. I may be a guy but I'm also a ninja with a pretty long amount of training. I can endure and wait until it's my turn to experience that and when it happens, it will be with the right person," he said. Without even sensing it, Tenten felt a pair of lips touch her cheek. She stopped walking and placed her hands there. She looked up to Lee, who was grinning a bit. He winked at her with one eye, similar as to what she did for him after they left the cave. As he started to walk away, he finished his sentence. "Consider that the appetizer of... well... what might come, when all this is over."

"Lee... I..."

"Come on. Neji and Gai-sensei are waiting for us. Wouldn't want to keep them waiting, now would you?" asked Lee. He took her by the hand and pulled her to him, causing her legs to move on their own. Her mind was too much in shock at what Lee just did. Was this how he felt when she did the same to him? She couldn't even feel anything from neck down. All she could feel was the burning sensation on her cheek where he placed his lips on. She didn't know what was happening to her body, but it was surely reacting to his kiss. It's just a kiss to the cheek, friends do it all the time, so why was her body reacting to it in ways that even she couldn't understand? There's only one person she could turn to for this issue. Tenten nodded to herself and regained control of her legs. She could have removed her hand from Lee's hold, but she chose not to. For once, she would listen to what her body was telling her, instead of her mind. When they finally were able to walk outside, Lee removed his hand from hers, leaving the kunoichi with an aching feeling of wanting more. But she decided to drown that feeling at the current moment. She didn't want anyone to know about her feelings just yet. Gai and Neji were indeed waiting for them both.

"Great job, you three and congratulations for passing the first phase of the exam. Did my clue help any?" he asked. Lee nodded and smiled.

"Thanks, Gai-sensei. Your clue helped me to decipher the hidden message of the exam," said Lee. Just then, his smile vanished, his face reverting to a normal facial expression. "Anyway, our second proctor for the chunin exams will be a woman named Anko Mitarashi and she said that you would know the location of the second phase of the chunin exam. So, do you know where it is?"

Gai nodded to his pupil.

"It's located about a mile from our training grounds, to the north-east. You'll know that you're in the right place when you see a large forest, surrounded by a metal fence. I'm prohibited from saying anything more than that or else you guys might get disqualified," he said. Neji, Lee, and Tenten, nodded to their sensei. "Okay, now that I've relayed the information to you, I have instructions to leave you three alone. I'm not allowed to escort you to that place. I guess part of the test this year is to have you guys get there on your own. Don't sweat it though, finding the place isn't the hard part. It's the actual second phase that you have to worry about. Go now, get some rest and be there by sunrise."

With that said, Gai vanished in a swirl of leaves.

"Alright guys, I'm going to head on home," said Neji. "Be prepared for anything tomorrow. I have a bad feeling about this."

Tenten and Lee nodded as the Hyuuga departed. He wondered if he was the one that was going to win the little bet that he made with his sensei, but that's another matter to be explained for another time. When he was gone, Tenten looked to Lee. She knew that she still had to speak to that special person about her feelings and she wanted to do it alone. She hoped that Lee wouldn't follow her with where she was going. Lee wondered what was in store for him for the next part of the chunin exam. He really wanted to meet up with Kabuto again. He seemed like a nice guy, maybe he would be able to tell him what he needed to know. And speaking of whom, there's still that snake man to worry about. If he's in this exam, Lee knew that he would have to be extra careful. He figured that Tenten's increased skill, strength, and healing ability, would play her away from death's grip but there's still that possible chance that something could go out of plan. Then there's Neji to worry about. Neji is tough but he's still just a genin. There are things that they may not be able to take down, especially that redheaded sand shinobi. Then there's that other sound ninja, Dosu, and his squad to worry about. They're fast but it seemed like they weren't moving at their fastest. Yet even with such speed, not many noticed their movements. He had to return home and meditate.

"Hey Tenten, I'm going to go home. You should as well and get some rest. Oh what am I saying, your regeneration ability supplies you with a slow but constant stream of energy, right? And we haven't done much of anything today so you should be alright," he said as something else clicked in his mind. Since they didn't really do anything yet, maybe it would be a good idea to stretch a bit and do a little sparring match. "Actually, do you want to do a little sparring match before we go our separate ways?"

"Um... I would but there's something that I have to take care of right now," she replied, a bit disappointed. Ever since she was capable of rapid cellular regeneration, there wasn't much that she was actually afraid of, not that there was really anything that scared her out of her wits... except for one thing. Her uncertain feelings for him was actually the one thing that was scaring her, and her healing ability couldn't make that go away. She actually wanted to spar a bit with Lee but there's something else that's more important. She needed a few tips from an expert, and she needed it fast.

"Okay. Then I'll just head home too. See you tomorrow," he said as he vanished in a swirl of leaves, copying his sensei's trademark. Now that he was gone, Tenten would be able to proceed with her plan. She looked around for the person on her mind and found her a minute later. She was explaining the directions of the location of the second phase of the exam, just as Gai did with Neji, Lee, and herself. When the woman's students left, Tenten quickly approached her.

"Excuse me, Kurenai-sensei?" she asked. The older kunoichi was about to leave, just as her students had, but turned around to face a girl that she had never seen in her life, yet something about her seemed familiar. Tenten inwardly slapped herself. Of course Kurenai wouldn't recognize her with her new outfit. "It's me, it's Tenten from Gai-sensei's squad."

"Oh, really? I'm sorry that I didn't recognize you earlier. What's with the new outfit? It looks really good on you. It makes you look more mature and more of a professional kunoichi than just a simple genin. Are you trying to impress someone?" she asked slyly.

"No I'm not. I need to ask you for a few tips on a problem that's recently been scaring me," she replied.

"Boy problems?" asked the older woman. Tenten surprisingly nodded. Kurenai sighed. "Of course, you do have two boys in your team, after all. I did the same thing you did when I was your age. I consulted with my sensei for advice with boys. So, what do you need help on?"

"Well... it's just that..." she trailed, wondering how to properly say what was on her mind. "I... I think I..."

"Yes...?" asked Kurenai. Was stuttering the trend with girls that liked boys these days? She sighed once more as she remembered those days, all those years ago when she would stutter while talking about the boy that she liked. In a sense, she couldn't really blame the younger kunoichi before her, as she did the same thing when she was younger and the sensei that she consulted didn't really say anything against it. Tenten looked to Kurenai, unable to fully let out what she wanted to say. She was still uncertain of her feelings for him but the thing is, it's there. The feelings are there and it's not something that can easily be ignored. They spent a year together, in a cave. There were many things that happened in that cave, other than just simple training. He didn't lay a finger on her unless she asked him to help her on something. But emotions arose in that cave, feelings from somewhere deep inside her, began to surface. And the thing is, it all pointed to him, to that one special person in her life. He paid attention to her, answered to her call, made her stronger than she ever thought possible. He isn't like other shinobi who brushed her aside, thinking that she wouldn't be able to handle his training, just because she looked like a delicate little girl.

He saw passed that and saw who she was, not who others saw her as. She didn't think she'd ever feel such emotional affections for someone like him... a drop out. But it was only recently that she realized that she was something of a drop out as well. Even as a good kunoichi who was talented in weapons and other forms of armed combat, she had no one to help her and she just fell. She wasn't strong enough like lady Tsunade, her idol. When even Neji gave up on her, he turned to her. He answered her prayer of wanting to become even stronger. He gave her the opportunity to make her dream into a reality. He was there when others weren't. He walked to her when others walked away. He stretched his hand to her when other kept theirs to themselves. He pulled her out of the darkness that she stumbled into it on her own. He brought her to the light and gave her something that no one, not even her busy parents, gave her. He believed in her, and stuck with her even when she had problems with learning a few simple taijutsu techniques. He never gave up on her, just as others gave up on him, just as she gave up on him before. Tenten looked to Kurenai, deep into her red eyes. She was sure of it now, more sure than ever.

"I think... no. I'm sure of my feelings now..." she said, smiling at the older leaf kunoichi.

"So, what is it?"

...

"I'm in love with Rock Lee."

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Dun dun dun...! Hmm... I'm supposed to have some comments to say for this chapter, besides the fact that I think it's really long. Then again, I'm trying to make my chapters longer and longer. I'm also trying to add more detail in the next chapter than the previous one had. Sometimes I get really lazy though, but sometimes I actually want to include the extra detail. Does that ever happen to any of you guys? Anyway, the LeexTen thing won't be coming around for a while. There are a couple more things that I have to concentrate on for now. There hasn't been as much romance between them, like I've been hoping for. But be patient with it, if you're the type that likes romance. Hmm... I think that's all I had to say, unless I'm forgetting to mention something that I'm supposed to be letting you all know. Uh... yeah I think that's it.

Ja ne!


	8. Chapter 8

**Legend of the Iron Monkey**

**Naruto Fanfiction**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a single shred of Naruto.**

**Chapter 8: Blooming Flowers in a Battlefield  
**

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When the sun was able to burn to its fullest form, the local clock of the hidden leaf village read 8:00 am. At said time, every genin who passed the first phase of the chunin exam, started arriving at the location of the second phase. The rookies were actually one of the first groups to arrive. They started mingling, talking about what type of test it would be this time. The test was supposed to start in an hour so everyone had a bit of time to get their last minute bits of relaxation. When Tenten arrived to the place, she noticed a few teams there already, chatting with each other to burn a little time. She wondered where Lee and Neji were. Those two would usually arrive at the training grounds earlier than when Gai-sensei told them to arrive. She had her chat with Kurenai-sensei yesterday, and it lasted for a very long time. She honestly wanted real tips from someone who probably had a lot of experience with boys and who better to choose than someone as attractive yet strong, than Kurenai Yuhi? Kurenai wasn't really able to give her any tips, save a couple. She mainly calmed her down as she really figured out most of her feelings on her own. When Tenten recollected all of those times where she was in trouble and Lee was there to aid her, it sort of acted as the final touches.

She knew her feelings for her teammate now, but she didn't want it to get in the way of the chunin exam. He would probably want the same thing too. She didn't really know of his feelings, but she knew enough. He gave her a kiss to the cheek yesterday, but even Kurenai-sensei said that it was more than a kiss for simple friendship. The older kunoichi was able to assure her that Lee thought of her as more than just a friend, but even that wasn't good enough. She wanted to hear it from him, from his own mouth. But she knew that it wouldn't be happening anytime soon. If Kurenai-sensei is right about his feelings for her, then there must be a good reason as to why he hasn't said anything yet. Of course there are other things in his mind. She learned, while training in the cave, that Lee is more than what he appears to be. From the man who saved him, his father, Lee was granted an ancient power that started from the deity who started his clan. Lee is now a god, or a demi-god, something like that. The day that she attained greater power from training in the cave was the moment she told herself that she would follow him and help him protect everyone. One man, no matter how great his power, can't protect everyone.

And Lee told her that he had a mission to do in the chunin exams. He spoke to the prisoners, who were responsible for his disappearance, prior to spending that year in the cave to train her. He said that he needed to find a snake man and demand to know why he wanted him to be brought to the village hidden in the clouds. It's a shame that he didn't know the name of this snake man, but it's probably better that way, at least for Tenten. She simply enjoyed being around him. He didn't scold her for not knowing how to do something, like what Neji often did when she trained with him. He was patient and compassionate through that year of training and she was grateful for it. It was sometime during the training where she sort of developed her crush for him but often told herself that it was a very childish crush that just needed to go away, for her sake. But having the talk with Kurenai-sensei helped to solidify her feelings. She would wait for him and tell him when the time is right. But for now, he is a man on a mission, and she was going to help him. If anyone deserves the truth for any reason at all, it's Lee. After another couple of minutes, Lee could be seen from a distance. Tenten smiled at him. She wanted to tell him how she felt, so badly, but not now.

"Good morning, Tenten," he said when he reached proper distance to talk.

"Good morning to you too, Lee," she replied, still smiling at him. He really is nice to look at.

"Did you manage to take care of whatever it was that you needed to do?" he asked. Tenten nodded but said nothing in reply. Lee took her silence graciously and didn't push through it. He would have arrived earlier but he was actually having a chat with Gai, catching up on old times again while doing some morning exercises. He really missed his sensei. Training at some magical cave with his father for 10 years was nice, but having Gai-sensei around was nice to have as well, but that wasn't the only reason why he was late. He also had a chat with the Hokage, who finally told him of the name of the snake man. His name is Orochimaru, but the Hokage requested that Lee kept it to himself, and to stay away from him, which defeated Lee's purpose of getting answers from the man. Lee didn't want to break his word from the old Hokage, but he had to get some answers and aside from that, if Orochimaru were to bring the village to its knees, Lee would do whatever he could to keep that from happening. Orochimaru is supposed to be a master of ninjutsu, so that would be a rather interesting battle then. A master of ninjutsu against a master of taijutsu... it was enough to make Lee squirm.

The two talked for a while until Neji and the other teams arrived. It turns out Neji's uncle, Hiashi Hyuuga, kept him and Hinata a little occupied for some last minute training. Neji also explained to them that his uncle taught him a new technique that regarded another level of the jyuuken stance that could cripple anyone. But Neji knew better than to try anything on Lee, remembering the last time that it happened. How it happened was still a mystery to him but he counted it as a mistake on his part, one that he learned from. There had to be something that worked against Lee, but unfortunately, the Hyuuga clan is a family of taijutsu experts. There isn't much ninjutsu that their scrolls could teach for any of the Hyuuga members, even those of the main branch. But there has to be a way to bring the spiky haired shinobi to his knees. It wasn't really Neji's style to think badly of his comrade but he didn't want to lose to him again... not after that last time. When the clock hit 9:00 am, every squad had arrived to the location. Anko appeared in a puff of white gray smoke, just in time. She scanned the crowd for any unfamiliar face who shouldn't be around.

"Great, you all made it. This here is the 44th battle ground used for training purposes for advanced shinobi. But we call it the forest of death, and for a good reason," she said, successfully scaring one or two squads, but the rest stood firm. From the corner of Lee's eye, noticed Naruto mocking Anko, repeating what she just said in a rather annoying tone while adding a little dance into it. Anko smirked at him and threw a kunai to the blond at such accuracy that it merely grazed his cheek, creating a scratch that blood oozed from, and landed on some grassy area, several paces behind him. Anko disappeared and instantly reappeared from behind Naruto, muttering something that only the blond could hear. Then something really caught Lee's attention. A grass kunoichi picked up the kunai with her tongue and gave it back to the test proctor. Having metal on your mouth probably isn't the best tasting delicacy in the world, but that wasn't the reason. The grass kunoichi's tongue was stretching really far and slithering like... almost like a... Lee's eyes widened. Could it be?

Anko walked back to the front of the crowd after the grass kunoichi returned the kunai to her. She started explaining the rules to the second part of the exam, but Lee's attention wasn't with her at the moment. His eye was still on the grass kunoichi with the snake-like tongue. It had to be her, but how? The third Hokage said that Orochimaru is a man, albeit a very weird one, a man nonetheless. If this girl isn't Orochimaru, then she must be one of his closest followers. Forget Kabuto, this girl was his new target. But he didn't want to endanger his squad, and by the sound of the rules, it's going to be bit difficult to get to this girl. He couldn't care less about the exam right now. If even one of Orochimaru's followers were this close, then it meant trouble. Trouble that had to be stopped if it the leaf village was to survive. His thoughts were snapped back to reality when Neji passed him a sheet of paper. He read through it. It was pretty much a consent form for them to sign so that if they died in the forest of death, no one would be held responsible. He didn't have to be given a consent form. He wasn't planning on dying yet anyway. He had to see to it that Orochimaru was stopped.

"Lee, are you alright?" asked Neji, shaking his companion back to reality. Lee inwardly cursed at himself for spacing out again. If this is something that is worrying his friends, then he should only think when he was on his own. But according to the bits and pieces of rules that he understood from Anko while he was thinking about Orochimaru, suggested that this test was about team work again. That's not going to work. He needed to fight Orochimaru on his own to ensure that no one else would get hurt... especially...

"Yeah, I'm good. Just thinking about... er... strategies for our upcoming battle to take the scrolls that we need from the other squads," he answered. Neji nodded, thinking that it was a good idea. But Tenten wasn't so dull, mainly because Lee had already informed her what his main objective was for entering the chunin exam. She knew what he was thinking about, and she would ask him about it later when she had the chance. But for now, she pretended to buy into his excuse. The squads separated for a few minutes, each member being given their own amount of time to think about whether they wanted to sign the consent form or not. Unsurprising to anyone, everyone signed the consent form and traded their forms for a scroll. Team Gai was escorted to gate number six, where they waited for the gates to be opened. Most of the teams were a bit nervous, but a few didn't have the time to be afraid. Lee, even without telling his squad, was actually counting on them to search for the required scrolls on their own. He had to find those grass ninja and fast, before anyone else is hurt. When the gates were unlocked, Lee, Neji, and Tenten, sprinted into the forest of death. As they ran deeper into the forest, Lee closed in on Tenten.

"Hey, I need you to do a favor for me," he said.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I need you to aid Neji in looking for the earth scroll that we need to pass this exam. As for me, there's something that I need to attend to," he explained. Tenten narrowed her eyes at him. She hated it when he didn't fully explain his intentions. He should understand by now that she vowed to stand by his side and help him with what he needed to do. And plus, she already knew what he was going to do, which agitated her even more. She isn't as weak as she used to be. She stopped sprinting on the spot and pulled Lee by the back of his shirt. Neji stopped running as well, wanting to know what was going on. Tenten pulled Lee to face her.

"Lee, I'm not stupid and I wish you'd stop treating me like I am," she said, surprising Lee. "I know that you're going after the snake man or someone who is in league with him and happens to be in this portion of the exam. I promised to help you and stand by you, not anyone else."

"Please Tenten, this is something that I have to do alone. You don't understand how dangerous he is," he said, trying to negotiate with the apparently angered kunoichi.

"And you don't seem to understand how dangerous it is for me to break my promise!" she exclaimed. Neji turned to face the quarreling couple. Oh, their first fight, it's rather cute in a not so sadistic way. He knew that they had a thing for each other, but just wasn't saying anything about it. Why? He didn't know, but he decided to play along just for the sake of pure entertainment. This forest of death place was really creepy and he needed something to get his mind off of it.

"Do you two need time to yourselves? I can go ahead. I mean, I can take care of myself, you know," he said.

"No, Neji. We don't need time to ourselves. I just wish Lee would understand what I'm saying!"

"I do understand what you're saying! It's you who doesn't understand what I'm saying!"

"Liar! You don't get a single word of what I'm telling you. I promised to stand by you and help you through your mission and you're telling me to break that promise?!"

"I'm not lying to you, I never have and I never will. I'm telling you this for your own good, so just do it for me, will you?!"

"No, and I absolutely refuse! Nothing you do or say will make me break my promise!"

"Can you two lovebirds be any louder? I don't think the other squads can hear you," Neji added.

"SHUT UP, NEJI!" They both shouted, looking to him. They turned back to face each other and continued their seemingly nonstop shouting. Lee couldn't believe that Tenten wouldn't do him one single favor. It's so simple, just tag along with Neji for a while until they found both scrolls. Lee would find them eventually, after he located Orochimaru's henchman and got the answers that he needed. On the other hand, Tenten was angered with Lee because he knew of the promise that she made to him, while they were training in the cave. He heard it come right from her mouth and he was still asking her to break it? How could he not know how far she would go for him? Was he so thick headed to not realize how she felt about him? Perhaps it was because such feelings only arose recently, but they were there. Why are boys so oblivious to the feelings that a girl has for him? How can he not see what she was willing to do for him, how far she was willing to go just for him?

"Tenten, will you think with logic for once in your life? I can't have you around me when I face off against him!"

"Do you think I care? I want to be there with you. Why can't you see that?!"

"I do see that, but I can't permit it. I don't want to see you hurt."

"Why? You know I can recover from it!"

"It's because..." Lee stopped himself as he was about to say it. He had been completely aware of his feelings for her for a very long time, but just never said it because of two reasons. He didn't think she would feel the same way, and because there were far more important things to deal with. He never expected her to even like someone such as him. He always thought of himself as just the "good friend" to people, and that's how she treated him until they he helped her to train in the cave. He knew that he would probably regret it now if he told her his true reasons, but she wasn't really leaving him with much of a choice. "You really want to know why I won't allow you to come with me? Do you really want to hear it from my mouth and won't decipher it for yourself?!"

"You know what, give it to me, give me your best excuse!"

"Grraaahhh! It's because... I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU!!!" He shouted to the top of his lungs. He panted hard, taking in as much air as he could. There it was, finally out in the open. Tenten was at a loss for words. She wanted him to say it, but when he did, she couldn't say anything in return. It didn't go the way she wanted it to, like the romantic setting that she was hoping for, but there it was. She knew she would still feel shocked at his answer, despite the setting, but that wasn't the point. Her crush just admitted to her that he was in love with her. In love. Technically, her mind and body are actually 15 years of age, one year older than Lee, but 10 years younger in terms of mentality. Would it be a strange relationship if they started dating? Lee may be 14 years old, but because he trained in the cave of the Iron Monkey for 10 years, plus an extra year, he would be about 25 years old now, mentally anyway. Her mother got her first boyfriend when she was about 15 as well, and that boy eventually became her husband, in the future. She couldn't say anything, she didn't know what to say. Lee hoped to the heavens that she took this answer properly. Even if she only thought of him as a good friend or just a brother, he didn't want her to act weird around him.

"Neji... can you give us some time alone?" asked Tenten, not taking her eyes off of Lee. Neji scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah right. I already asked you both that earlier, and you both shouted no in my face. If I'm going to owe Gai-sensei 2000 yen because Lee admitted his feelings first, I might as well make it worth my money. So hell no, I'm staying right here to see how this ends," said Neji as he leaned on a tree, watching for Tenten's reaction.

She had never felt anything like this before. It was just as Kurenai sensei told him. Someone confessed to her when she was younger too, and she liked that boy as well. She said that the feeling was too deep for mere words to describe and she was right. Tenten couldn't even begin to describe how she felt at the moment. All she knew was that it felt good to know that the boy she had feelings for, admitted that he felt the same way. All that was left now was to give him her answer. She clenched the torso area of his hard leather garment and pulled him closer, pressing her lips onto him. Lee instantly melted to the kiss. It felt like everything Asuma-sensei said it would. Unknown to anyone, Lee spoke to Asuma about girl problems. He didn't talk to Gai about it because he knew that it wouldn't feel right, especially since the girl in question was in his same team. He had to ask someone who didn't know her enough to give a biased opinion. He wanted a fair opinion. His... her... their first kiss felt good. When they pulled away, both were blushing deeply. All of their anger just vanished, like it never existed.

"So... Lee... you uh... had something to take care of... right?" she asked, stuttering her brains out.

"Y-yeah... um..."

"Alright, I'll let you go alone but only if you do a favor for me too," she said. "I don't want our first kiss to be our last kiss. You have to come back to me."

"Dead or alive?"

"Whatever floats your boat, sweetheart. But if I hear that you died and I find your corpse, I swear to the heavens that I'll find a way to bring you back to life and murder you myself. Got it?" she asked, making her conditions clear to him. It was kind of scary because she was really giving off that evil, yet nice, look. Lee didn't really know how to react to such a thing, but he knew that he would definitely come back alive.

"That's not a very nice thing to say..."

"Who said I was a very nice girl?"

"I thought it was implied."

"Then you're in for one hell of a ride, mister," she said, poking his chest with her index finger. Lee smiled and nodded as he took to the trees and sped away. Tenten watched him until she couldn't see him anymore. It finally happened, he confessed to her. They had their first kiss, and it really felt just as good as Kurenai-sensei said. She knew that he would come back alive, the guy heals faster than she does and she thought she healed pretty fast. Neji wasn't all that surprised at the outcome and was rather happy for them. They deserve each other but something else bothered him now. What if he started becoming the third wheel, or the one who was left out of the loop just because his two friends were now boyfriend and girlfriend? Well, not officially, but it was implied. It was a given. He nodded to himself and remembered their task. They still had to search for the heaven scroll, and Lee was counting on them both. Neji hoped that Lee would return, for his sake. He didn't want to have to drag Tenten around while she waited for her lover.

"Well, come on Tenten, we better get going. We still have to get that heaven scroll and pass this exam," he said he leaped to the trees, the opposite side of where Lee went. Tenten nodded and followed suit, not really completely recovering from the fact that she was no longer single.

__________________________________________________

Lee ran for at least a good four to five hours, going at a moderately fast pace so as to conserve energy for Orochimaru. He knew that his healing ability supplied him with a constant stream of stamina so he wouldn't get tired so easily, but he couldn't take any chances. The Hokage was pretty adamant when he told him to stay away from Orochimaru, most likely warning him of the snake man's power. At the moment, Lee didn't care about the power of his opponent. He was confident in his skills in combat and he knew that his training would serve him well. He held the spirit of the Iron Monkey, the sole protector of his clan, and the watchful guardian. Although the body of the original Iron Monkey was dead, his spirit lives on in Lee, the last son of the Hanazawa clan... minus his father of course. Speaking of whom, he wondered how his father was doing, and what he was up to at the moment. He hadn't seen him since they separated, after his 10 years of training in the cave. Lee hoped he was doing well. His father told him of how he was able to retain his healing ability, but it was degraded a lot upon departing with the spirit of the Iron Monkey and probably couldn't be relied upon except with small bruises and minor scratches.

In the hour that he had been running for, Lee met up with a couple of very unfortunate groups. One of the groups held an earth scroll, which is what his group had. They demanded for him to give them his scroll, but he insisted that he didn't have it. In truth, he really didn't. Tenten has the earth scroll that was given to their squad by Anko. When they didn't believe him and attacked, Lee was forced to defend themselves and ended up taking their earth scroll. He didn't need it but chose to hang on to it so that team wouldn't be a danger to other teams. The second group that he met up with actually had a heaven scroll, but was defeated by Lee as well. The Iron Monkey secured both scrolls in his holster, where he held his extra kunai and shuriken. He was confident in Tenten and Neji's skill in finding a heaven scroll, so they could pass the test, but it's better to play it safe. When he halted to take a look at his surroundings, he heard a shout... someone saying dragon flame jutsu. Now, anyone is can use just about any jutsu, but the only one who came to mind that would use a fire based technique is the Sasuke, as his clan was famous for their mastery of fire element jutsus. The distance gap was pretty far, but it made Lee curious as to who it was that Sasuke was battling with, and what condition he was in to cast such a powerful jutsu.

After a few minutes later and arriving to the scene, he saw a large burnt mark on a huge tree, but no one in the vicinity. He could have sworn that he heard the voice here. He landed on the tree with the burnt mark and examined it. The fire was still warm, so that meant that whoever was here, he couldn't have gone far. It wasn't just a burned tree that he noticed. Several barks and other trees seemed to be destroyed. And to top it all off, there was a giant snake corpse on the ground with blood oozing from its mouth. Orochimaru was definitely here. So what the shinobi and the kunoichi said in the prison wasn't exaggerated then. This guy literally is a snake man, especially with his use of snakes for summoning jutsus. It was at that moment when Lee wondered if the grass ninja earlier was Orochimaru in a disguise using a transformation jutsu. But even such a jutsu can't possibly copy that weird tongue thing that the grass nin did to return the kunai back to Anko. That was just plain creepy.

Lee closed his eyes in an attempt to sense any shinobi who were still close by. He picked up several signals, most of which belonged to other squads that he didn't recognize or weren't from the village. Sakura's signal was pretty strong, as she was probably near his current location, but there were two others near her with very weak signals. It was probably Sasuke and Naruto and if Lee could give an educated guess, they must have done battle with Orochimaru. He was about to go to them and see if they were alright, when he picked up another signal. Although having only seen her twice, Lee was familiar with her energy signal. It belonged to the test proctor, Anko Mitarashi. But what is she doing here? He noted that Sasuke and Naruto were going to be alright, as long as Sakura was with them. He chose to follow Anko's energy signal instead. Right as he decided to movel, he felt another energy signal, one more power than Anko's. It was vile, sinisiter, and pure evil. It has to be him, it has to be Orochimaru. Lee growled a bit and hurried to Anko, hoping that she wouldn't have to fight him.

When he arrived, just a minute later, he saw Anko injured and leaning against a tree for support. She had her hand on a spot near her left shoulder, and she was grasping it like it was the source of a huge amount of pain. When he arrived to aid her, he saw the other guy, and was definitely sure of who it was. Pale face, long black hair, and snake-like eyes. It's him, there's no doubt about it. It's Orochimaru. Said shinobi looked to the new arrival who had come to aid Anko. He looked to be a professional assassin, what with his very stylish outfit, but he wasn't aware of any leaf shinobi who emanated the kind of power that this black-clad shinobi was. Orochimaru smiled a bit and licked his lips with his slithering tongue. Anko saw the new arrival as well. It was one of those genin from before. No, this is bad... what horrible timing!

"Well, who might you be?" asked Orochimaru. Lee turned to face him after he was certain that Anko was going to be alright.

"My name is Rock Lee," he said, glaring at the long haired man. "I've been looking for you for a while now. I received word from the two cloud ninja that you hired, three months ago, to bring me back to you, dead or alive. They told me about you... Orochimaru."

"You know my name? Interesting... I never told them my name, but I guess it saves me from a very boring introduction," he replied.

"Now spill it. I want to know why you hired them to kidnap me. And while you're at it, you might as well tell me what dangers you're about to bring to the village hidden in the leaves!" Lee exclaimed. Anko couldn't believe what she was hearing. How is it possible that a mere genin knew so much about Orochimaru and wasn't quivering in his boots? This guy is one of the most dangerous men in the world and this genin was shouting at him like he was just another one of those lowlife bandits that one meets during a C rank mission.

"Spunky... you've definitely got courage, my little friend," Orochimaru remarked.

"Lee... get away from him now, while you still can!" Anko managed to say, even with the aching pain on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, test proctor. I intend to get you out of here after I beat this guy down," he said, voice full of confidence.

"Ahh... bold and spunky. I like your style, kid," said Orochimaru. "I'll make you a deal then. I'll play with you for a bit to test the limits of your strength and to see what it was that got me interested in you in the first place. I'm going to admit that I no longer remember such information. It has been three months, you know. I'm not going to ask you to defeat me, no, I don't think even someone of the Hanazawa clan can defeat me."

"How do you know about my clan?" asked Lee.

"All I request is that you survive against me for five minutes. After that, I'll spill my guts," he said.

"You'll spill more than just your guts, when I'm through with you," Lee replied, slipping into his fighting stance. What in the world could this guy be thinking? He just agreed to fight one of the most powerful shinobi in all of history, and he wasn't afraid? This genin, if memory serves, is a student of Gai. Gai is a great shinobi, no doubt there, but he isn't nearly as strong as Orochimaru. There's too much of a gap between Gai and her old teacher. So why would his own student dare to challenge this traitor, especially if he knew him? Anko wanted to stop Gai's student from making a mistake that would surely cost him his life, but she wasn't in the position to do so. She couldn't even stand, let alone move. She hoped to the stars that this kid knew what he was getting himself into.

"Well then, shall we begin?" he asked as he zipped *** (A/N: #1 - see below for description.) *** from where he stood. Lee was able to see him coming, being trained for high speed combat by Gai-sensei. Lee jumped forward and grabbed the snake man's shoulder. He flipped forward and threw Orochimaru the tree that was opposite of where Anko was. Orochimaru was thrown at such a force that he went straight through the tree and two others before slamming into the third one, hard. Lee rushed to his opponent, not wanting him to be gone from sight. Anko couldn't believe what she had just seen. Not only did Lee anticipate where Orochimaru was going, but it even looked like he was able to see where the traitor was going. Orochimaru moved at a speed that was impossible for her to see, yet the genin before her saw him. He's definitely not just an ordinary genin, of that she was sure. She reminded herself to ask Gai what he did to train the boy, but that would come later. She struggled through the pain and stood on her feet, having the urge to follow the two but remain at safe distance.

When Orochimaru stood, he wondered how the boy was able to see and anticipate his movements, much less create an interesting counter attack, right on the spot. The sound shinobi could swear that he was moving in a speed that only the most skilled of jonin could see even a glimmer of, yet this Rock Lee saw him like he was walking. Lee jumped and landed on the same tree where Orochimaru was at. There was no way he would allow this guy to threaten the village. It was as if his own concerns, about the reason why Orochimaru requested the cloud ninjas to retrieve him, didn't matter to him right now. Possessing the spirit and might of the Iron Monkey granted him with power, but he promised his father that he would use it for peace and justice, and that's what he intended to do. Orochimaru looked to his opponent.

"Impressive, very impressive. You saw through my speed and formed a counter attack. You caught me off guard, boy. It won't happen again," he said as he formed a few hand seals. When he finished, several snakes appeared from his arm. He launched them at him. Lee readied himself to kick them away, but they did something that he didn't expect. The snakes spat some poisonous venom from their mouths. Lee moved away to dodge them, at the last minute, but didn't avoid all of them. Some of the acid landed on his face and hands, which successfully burned through his clothing and his face. Orochimaru was very confident in the power of his snakes' poison, but he was, for the second time, surprised. Right in front of him, The wound on Lee's face closed rather quickly, leaving not a single scratch on his face. Orochimaru's eyes widened.

"A self healing ability? I wasn't aware that those of the Hanazawa clan are capable of that," he said, trying to mask his shock.

"I guess you don't know me as well as you thought, now do you?" he asked as he vanished and quickly reappeared beside Orochimaru. Without having the time to block or evade, Orochimaru felt a fist hit his face and a knee, drilling through side. He grimaced in pain, swearing that it felt like he was hit by an elephant, but Lee wasn't through with him. He grabbed the sound ninja by his arm and continuously jabbed his fist on his prey's ribs. Unable to take anymore of the pain, Orochimaru bent to the side and kicked him in an attempt to free himself from Lee's hold. He was successful in freeing himself but unsuccessful in causing any damage to the leaf shinobi. Lee raised his arm over his chest and blocked the kick. As Orochimaru was pushed back from his own kick, Lee grabbed the man's foot and slammed him on the tree bark, where they stood, and destroyed it. As Orochimaru fell down, Lee pushed from the air and landed a very powerful kick on the man's chest, propelling him to the ground below. Lee allowed himself to fall and leaped a few feet from his opponent.

That kick was strong, but it wasn't enough to knock him out. Orochimaru pulled himself from the crater that his body created from the fall and looked around him. Lee was no where to be found. Thanking his senses, the sound ninja sensed a soft vibration in the, to the right. Orochimaru moved his arm to the right side and blocked a punch from his opponent and engaged him in hand to hand combat. This leaf genin was definitely remarkable, even more amazing than the young Uchiha whom he met up with, not too long ago. In addition to the Hanazawa clan's kekkei genkai to get stronger for every time they healed from a fatal injury, this guy was also capable of regeneration. Every punch and kick that landed on the boy, his healing ability would take care of. Who is this kid? Is he a monster? A god? Whatever he was, Orochimaru knew that he had to have him. He was aware of the fact that the Hanazawa clan is incapable of using ninjutsu or genjutsu, but with such a healing ability, perhaps he could find a way to fix the inability to use jutsus. If the healing ability that Lee has could heal his injuries, then perhaps it could also slow down or even completely stop his aging process. With that power, one of his dreams would be granted.

Combined with the ability to heal and the Hanazawa clan's ability to continuously get stronger, limitless strength can be achieved. This boy... he is definitely skilled and very powerful. Now Orochimaru remembered why he wanted Lee by his side. He wanted such a powerful weapon to aid him in conquering the leaf village and making the Hokage bow on his knees. With an unstoppable juggernaut like Lee, ultimate power would be within his grasp. If he was correct about Lee's immortality, he would no longer have to jump from body to body to preserve his own life. Lee's potential is limitless, due to the incredible combination of his kekkei genkai and his second ability. Now that he thought about it, Lee can be so much faster and so much stronger than he was right now. If given enough time to place his passive kekkei genkai to work, Lee's power could be infinite. Perhaps this boy would join him and see his ways. Temptation always was one of Orochimaru's strong points. Orochimaru blocked another of Lee's kicks and leaped away.

"Very good, very impressive for a genin," he said. "I could use someone of your skill. You should join me. Together, you and I can have every single one of the five of the strongest shinobi nations, kneeling on our feet. We can have each one of their kages bow before us before we take their lives."

"If I wanted them to kneel to my feet or kill them, I'd have done that already. I don't need your help for world domination. I'm sure I can do that on my own. But unfortunately for you, I fight for peace, I fight to rid the world of scumbags like you who do nothing but to plague the world with your darkness. I was granted this power to keep the world safe and that's what I'm going to do. And I'm going start with you," he said.

"Your resolve is strong, I admire that, but I can break anyone, even you," he said as he started melting into mud. Lee's eyes widened as he ran to stop him from escaping, but he failed. By the time he reached Orochimaru, he had already melted into the earth. Although gone, Lee was still able to hear one last phrase from him. "You are a very interesting subject, Lee. We'll meet again when the conditions are right."

Lee cursed at himself, unable to believe that he actually allowed Orochimaru to escape without getting the answers that he wanted. It wasn't a total loss though. At least he was able to learn of Orochimaru's intentions for the village. He figured that since Orochimaru was in the leaf village, he would be starting his global conquest here. That was something that Lee knew he had to prevent. He also knew that Orochimaru didn't seem to show is full power. He would probably see it when they met in battle again. The Iron Monkey sighed to himself and arched his back, cracking a few bones that Orochimaru managed to bend a little, with the attacks that couldn't be dodged or blocked. When his muscles and bones were placed in the right area, he smiled to himself, feeling a little better. He noticed then that someone was behind him, a few paces away. He turned around to face Anko, who was panting heavily. The special jonin saw it all. Lee handled himself a lot better than she thought possible for anyone, save an equally skilled shinobi of Orochimaru's calibur. Lee approached the injured test proctor.

"I'm not sure what Orochimaru did to get you in this condition, but I have to get you out of here," he said as he lifted her up. He wasn't as tall as she was, but was easily able to help her to stand. Anko leaned her body on him, no longer surprised that he was able to carry someone that was probably twice his size. She tried to walk but found the pain on her shoulder still rather agonizing. Lee sighed once more.

"Oh man, you're in worse condition than I thought. I guess I'll have to carry you myself," he said as he raised her body and lifted her so she was right above him. Lee secured her arms around his neck, but made sure it wasn't too tight so as to allow him to breathe. Lee fastened his arms around her legs and ran to a single direction, hoping to find a safe place to put her down on and return to Neji and Tenten.

"Why are you helping me? Don't you have a test to complete?" she asked.

"I placed my two other teammates in charge of retrieving the scroll needed to pass this exam, while I searched for Orochimaru. And in the unlikely case that they fail, I retrieved an earth scroll and a heaven scroll from two squads on my way here, so my squad is pretty secure. They're very skilled in the shinobi art, so I'm not too worried about their safety," he said as he sniffed her breath. "You smell like dumplings, by the way."

"Shut up and just drop me somewhere. I don't like being carried around," she said.

"And leave you to get your ass raped by some of the students or animals in this village? Yeah right. If I did that, it would be on my guilty conscience if anything were to happen to you. Unlike me, who signed a consent form, you didn't. If you were to die, it would be on my hands, and I'd prefer to avoid that if at all possible," he replied.

"Fine then. If you want to leave me at a safe place, continue running at this direction until you see a red tower. You already have an earth and heaven scroll, so after you drop me off over there, go ahead and search for your squad. The forest of death is pretty large and you only have five days to return to the tower, with your scrolls, and your teammates, if you don't want to be disqualified. And if you were to be disqualified from this exam, it would be on my guilty conscience," she said.

"And why is that?"

"Because I owe you my life for saving me from Orochimaru and maybe some predators or some perverted genin squads who may have spotted me and have taken advantage of my weak form. I don't like owing life debts to anyone and even if you're one of those people with a misguided sense of self-righteousness, a life debt is a life debt, no matter what you say," she said.

"Well, since you put it that way, you pretty much owe me a favor, don't you?" he asked. Anko rolled her eyes but nodded. "Okay. I don't have anything that I'd like for you to do at the moment, but when I think of something, I'll let you know."

"I wonder... you're not 18 are you?" she asked slyly.

"Well, technically I'm... wait, why would you ask me that?" he inquired, a bit curious as to why she would ask for his age. Anko giggled slightly. He may not look it, but this guy acts as if he's much older than he appears. He isn't like any of the other uninteresting genin in the exam. He didn't take advantage of her while she was weakened, like what most other young men would do when they see a helpless woman.

"Never mind. Just keep running," she said.

"Yes ma'am," he said as he increased his speed.

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*** (A/N: #1) - What I mean by zip is... take a stroll down memory lane and think back to the days when you watched Dragon Ball Z. If you've never seen that anime, you just missed a couple years of your life that you might never get back unless you purchase the dvd for it. In this story, to zip is comparable to how the characters in DBZ would vanish and create that little sonic sound. They don't really disappear, they just move really fast.**

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Sorry, I just had to add in that last part with Anko. Even if Lee were to say that's actually 25 years old, well that's only if you add the additional 10 years that he spent in the cave, training with his father and the additional one year that he spent in the cave again, training Tenten. Anko isn't 25, right? She looks to be a little older to me, when I last saw her in the anime. Although Lee's mind may be 25 years old, his body is still really that of a 14 year old kid. But that reminds me of something else, does that mean Lee can be considered as a pedophile for dating Tenten? Tenten has the body of a 15 year old, because the effects of the cave is different for her as it is with Lee, but is actually also just 14 years old. So I'm wondering, does it mean that I've paired up a 25 year old man with a 15 year old girl?

...

....

.....

Just kidding. Their ages are about the same. If anything, Tenten is actually older than Lee. Lee has the mind of a 25 year old man, but the body of a 14 year old kid. Tenten has the body of a 15 year old girl and the mind of a 15 year old girl as well. Oh and as for what Orochimaru was thinking about in this chapter, regarding Lee's immortality, I've said it in chapter three, but I'll say it again here. Lee can't die unless his head is severed from his body, or by age. Now that I think about it, gods are true immortals and can't die, right? So I guess **you can think of Lee as a demi-god** because he can actually die, unlike a real god who can't die. As for Tenten's mortality or immortality, due to her healing ability, I'll leave that a secret for now.

Ja ne!


	9. Chapter 9

**Legend of the Iron Monkey**

**Naruto Fanfiction**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a single shred of Naruto.**

**Chapter 9: Saving the Enemy  
**

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As Lee continued his pace to the tower, he wondered why Orochimaru wanted to destroy the leaf village. For every action, there is a consequence. He has to already know the consequences of destroying a fellow shinobi nation. The others will rebel against him, especially those who are allied to the village hidden in the leaves. But more importantly, this action has to have a reason. What's Orochimaru's reason for wanting to destroy the leaf village? Was it a personal grudge? But if so, why take it out on the whole village? The only one that Lee could imagine who possessed a strong enough reason to hate the village, is Naruto. But as cruel as the villagers were to the boy, he doesn't want to take their lives. He doesn't want to destroy their town, nor does it seems like he has the intention to. Naruto wants to protect the village that beat him to near death in his childhood. So why can't Orochimaru think of it the same way? Why not forgive and forget any grudge that he has for the leaf village and live in peace? Lee shook his head slightly as he tilted his head a bit to check on his passenger. She wasn't talking anymore, but she was still breathing, so that's a good sign. She probably passed out. Right as he thought he was at peace, Anko's eyes shot open and howled into his ear.

"Ow!!! What the hell?! You can put someone's ear out with that shout!" he said. Anko placed a hand on her left shoulder, clenching it as it caused her incredible pain. Lee increased his speed even further. There had to be a reason why Anko wanted to go to the tower. "Hey, why do you want to go to the tower anyway?"

"Because that's where I keep my medicine for this shoulder pain that I have," she replied, not fully telling him the truth.

"Aren't kunoichi of the leaf village able to withstand a mere shoulder pain? I mean, you're not bleeding or anything, so it can't be that bad," said Lee, completely clueless of the entire situation. She was fine earlier, before he second portion of the exam started. But when he saw her with Orochimaru, she was gripping her shoulder like it was going to fall off. Lee scanned his surroundings for the snake man. He was no where to be found, so why was Anko still in so much pain? "Oh, I get it, you're on your period, aren't you?"

Anko flushed a new shade of red that no one had ever seen. She looked to him with steam coming out of her ears and a vein popping out of her face. That was the most perverted question anyone had ever said to her. She wanted to smack him but it might cause him to stumble, fall over, and cause her more pain than she already was in. The special jonin inhaled a few large breaths and huffed it all out. This kid definitely knew how to push a woman's buttons, and it's not funny. He's just a kid, he shouldn't have the knowledge of being able to do something like that unless his sensei was... no way. Anko shook the thought from her head and decided to beat the kid down later, once they reached the tower. Since he was able to fight off Orochimaru, she figured he could trust him with her secrets.

"No I'm not on my period and for future reference, you never ask a girl or woman that stupid question. Do you hear me?" she asked, trying to tone down her anger.

"Do I have a choice? Your mouth is two inches away from my ear. I think I'd still be able to hear your loud voice even if I was deaf," he said. Anko really didn't like being called a loud mouth, especially by kids, but she knew it was true.

"Alright, well, the reason why I'm wailing in pain right now is because of a mark on my shoulder called, the cursed mark," she said.

"Oooh, sounds creepy," Lee mocked, making a face. "Do tell."

Anko decided to ignore that little comment. "The cursed mark is something that Orochimaru gives to his followers. It imbues the user with heightened strength, speed, and overall chakra capacity, if it is used. The problem is, the more someone uses it, the more influence Orochimaru gets on that person. If I used it against Orochimaru, I might have stood a chance, albeit a very slim one, but still a chance. There are two levels of the cursed mark. The first level is noticeable when the user is covered with black comas all over his or her body. The second level unlocks the beast within that user. If you ever face off against someone with a cursed mark, defeat him before he uses the second stage, or you'll be in trouble."

"Interesting, but can I ask questions now?" he asked, acting like a student in the academy. Anko nodded. "Ok, question one, you said that only Orochimaru's followers have the cursed mark, right? Since you have it, doesn't that make you a follower as well? If so, why are you here? Shouldn't you be with him?

"That was four questions, kid, but I'll fess up. Yes, having the cursed mark does mean that you're a follower of Orochimaru but not all of his followers get that. Orochimaru only gives it to the most exceptional of his followers. As for the second one, I was once a student of Orochimaru, when I was a little girl. Why am I here? Well, let's just say that he no longer had his uses for me. Why I'm not with him? That's because I want to kill him for what he did to me," she answered. Lee nodded in understanding.

"How dangerous is the second stage?" he asked.

"You don't want to know, but I'll tell you anyway. The second stage awakens the beast inside of the person. Every ninja has a beast within them and the cursed mark awakens that beast. When a cursed mark user taps into the second stage, he brings the beast inside, to the surface. The power of the second stage of the cursed mark is definitely something you would want to avoid," she said.

"Alright, last question. How do you get rid of a cursed mark?" he asked. Anko sighed to herself.

"There is only one person who knew how to do that, but he's dead, along with the rest of his clan. The only one with the knowledge to destroy a cursed mark is the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze," she said. Minato Namikaze... that's a name worth remembering. "Minato was a prodigy among shinobi and earned the title 'Yellow Flash' because of his very unique jutsu that allows him to wipe out entire armies in a flash of yellow light. The yellow is actually blond because of his hair. He and his clan were once famous because of their natural talent to learn and master sealing jutsus. Not only was the Fourth a master shinobi, but also a seal master. Only he knew how to get rid of these blasted cursed marks, and now he's gone. The only way for me to stop the pain is to take medications or apply mediocre sealing jutsus on myself."

"Why don't you ask another shinobi to use a sealing jutsu on you? It may not be as effective as the Fourth's jutsu, but at least it might help. I heard from Gai-sensei that Kakashi-sensei is a master of the art of ninjutsu. He also told me of Kakashi-sensei's one-eyed sharingan. I'm sure he's copied at least one effective sealing jutsu throughout his entire lifetime," he said. Anko shook her head once more.

"No, Kakashi doesn't possess the kind of power destroy the cursed mark. Maybe he does know one or two jutsus that can do the trick, but the only way to really get rid of this thing is to use a sealing jutsu that is more powerful than the one who bestowed the cursed mark," she replied. Lee nodded. He wanted to help Anko get rid of the cursed mark, but it was just as she said. The only one who knows how to get rid of those things is the Fourth, and he took his secret to the grave. As he continued his way to the tower, Anko's cursed mark started acting up again, but this time, it was worse than before. She placed her hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming in agonizing pain. Lee stopped running and looked around for any sign of Orochimaru. Learning that he was no where near them, he felt another massive surge of dark energy. It had the same chakra signal as the cursed mark that Anko possessed. Could it be that there's another person here with the cursed mark?

"Lee... someone else has the cursed mark... AAARRGGGGHHH!!!" she howled. Placing the puzzle pieces together, he learned that Anko's cursed mark was reacting to the cursed mark of another person. He secured his arms around her legs once more and darted to that direction. He didn't want to cause her anymore pain but he had to know who it was. He needed to keep a mental count of how many people had this stupid mark so he could destroy it, granted that he found another person with the ability to destroy cursed marks and had the power to back it up. When he arrived, Anko's vision was getting blurry from the loss of chakra, but she persevered through it. She also wanted to know who else had the cursed mark. Lee and Anko saw a young boy with spiky, raven hair, and a blue shirt. Lee's eyes widened.

"Is that... Sasuke?" he asked. Anko nodded.

"Impossible... when did he get it?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to try and top him," he said as he looked around for a safe spot to set Anko down. Just then, he spotted the safest spot there was. Neji and Tenten were near, standing around and watching the show. Lee approached them. Tenten sensed him and turned to face him, a little surprised that he was carrying the test proctor on his back. "Tenten, I need you to look after the test proctor for me. I'm going to try and stop Sasuke."

"Yeah, leave it to me," she said as Lee placed Anko's body down. Neji pulled out some healing ointment and placed it around the odd looking mark that he the older woman harbored on her shoulder. As he applied the ointment, he noticed it dissolving as if molten heat was venting through the mark. Lee jumped off of the tree as he saw Sasuke finishing off one of the sound genin from Dosu's squad. Kin was knocked out and Dosu was the only one who remained standing. The other guy's arms looked like they were twisted in every angle. So this is the first stage of the cursed mark... the power was frightening. Sasuke saw his next opponent and wanted to test his strength even further. Lee also noticed that Naruto was knocked out and had a towel over his head, probably to get rid of some fever. Sakura was on all fours, battered and pretty bruised. Her hair was shorter too, which he would ask her about later, when this is over.

"Sasuke, snap out of it! You're under the influence of the cursed mark," said Lee, slipping into a fighting stance in case his reasoning failed as it always did. Sasuke smirked at him and looked at his hands. He then looked to him again.

"Yeah, and it feels great. These guys haven't allowed me to experience the peak of my power. You've gotten stronger in such a short amount of time, so perhaps you will prove a better punching bag than these three.

"I don't want to have to hurt you, Sasuke, but I will if you don't cooperate with me. I'll bring you back to your squad whether you're conscious or not," he said. Sasuke smirked wider and zipped. Lee's eyes followed, but his body didn't move. When Sasuke closed in for the attack, Lee zipped as well, effectively dodging the attack. He moved behind Sasuke and jabbed his knee into his back. Sasuke grunted in pain and fell to the ground, but wasn't finished yet. Lee charged at him. Sasuke formed a few hand seals and brought his fingers to his mouth. He inhaled a brush of air and exhaled a burst of flames. Lee narrowed his eyes and jumped into the flames. He spun his body, creating a drill-like attack that pierced straight through the flames. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as Lee passed through the fire, unscathed. Lee landed on the ground and smashed his fist into Sasuke's face, but was blocked with Sasuke's arm. Sasuke aimed a kick to Lee's stomach, but Lee pushed himself away, receiving only a small portion of what would probably have broken a bone or two. Sasuke jumped into the air and formed more hand seals, he placed the same hand as before, over his mouth.

"Fire style: Phoenix Flower jutsu!" he shouted, blasting a flurry of fire bombs to the ground. As Lee evaded them, he saw two of them about to hit Naruto and Sakura. As Sasuke realized where he aimed, he tried to reach them, but he couldn't. He was still in the air and since he shot his fire bombs from his mouth, he was propelled a little higher due to the force of the shot. Lee moved to Sakura first, being the closest one, and picked her up. He then moved as fast as he could to Naruto, but knew that he wouldn't arrive in time to get him out of the way too. Instead of avoiding the blast, he had no time, so he chose the other option. He moved to Naruto's body, placed Sakura right beside the unconscious blond, and closed his eyes as the fire bombs made contact with his body. Tenten saw the attack, her eyes filled with shock.

"Lee!!" she shouted, zipping above Sasuke and swung her foot down. Unprepared and caught off guard, Sasuke took the full force of the blow and crashed to the ground, his aura dissipating. As the smoke cleared, Neji, Tenten, and Dosu, saw Lee in one piece as well as Naruto and Sakura, safe. But what Dosu and Neji didn't see coming was the burnt marks on Lee's body, closing very quickly. The clothes that covered his back were crisped, but his body remained clean. The other wounds that he received from the fire jutsu, closed right in front of their eyes. Tenten rushed to him and cupped his cheeks, pulling him to her.

"You're okay... don't ever scare me like that again!" she said, embracing him. Lee nodded and returned the embrace.

"Hey, I'm not that easy to kill. It'll take more than just that to get rid of me," he said, nuzzling his face on her neck, taking in her scent. He pulled away and kissed her cheek. He smiled to her and looked to Naruto and Sakura. "Are you two alright?"

Naruto stirred awake, through all the action, and arose from his slumber. Sakura nodded to Lee and embraced the blond, missing him as if he was gone for years. She then looked to her savior, Lee. "Thank you, Lee. We're still taking part of the chunin exams and you decided to save us even when you didn't have to. I owe you my life and the lives of my teammates. Thank you for saving us, and Sasuke."

"Really? I saved you two but..." he trailed off as he turned around, seeing Sasuke's body planted on the ground. He looked back to the pink-haired kunoichi. "I'm not the one who did that. He was up in the air when I saved you two from his attack."

"I was the one who knocked him down," said Tenten. Lee looked to her and stood up, helping her to stand as well.

"Have I ever told you that I love you?" he asked. Tenten smiled sincerely.

"Only once, but I wouldn't mind hearing it again," she said, about to plant her lips onto Lee's when Neji jumped down from the tree, Anko on his back.

"Cut that out, we're still in the midst of battle," he said as he and his friends looked to Dosu and his unconscious comrades. Lee walked to his friend.

"Did you two manage to attain a heaven scroll?" he asked.

"Yeah," Neji nodded. "I have the heaven scroll. Tenten has the earth scroll. We figured that if one of us gets captured, at least the other squads won't get both scrolls."

"I see," he said as he looked to Sakura. "Sakura, what scroll does your squad have?"

"We have a heaven scroll, why?" Lee nodded and turned to Dosu.

"What scroll do you guys have?" he asked.

"An earth scroll," Lee nodded once more and reached for the earth and heaven scroll that he had in his pocket. It would be a total waste to just throw them away, so he figured he should give them to the two squads here that need it the most. He didn't want two potential squads of shinobi to be expelled from the exam just because they were missing a scroll. Besides, he wanted to see the full extent of Sasuke's cursed mark, the full power of the sound village, and whatever Naruto was packing. There was something inside him that the Iron Monkey could sense. It was pretty sinister and very diabolical, but it didn't seem to be taking control of Naruto, so Lee shrugged it off. He would deal with it if it became a problem. He pulled out the two extra scrolls and gave Dosu a heaven scroll and Sakura an earth scroll. Both ninjas caught the scroll, stared at it, then looked to their benefactor.

"Why would you give us a scroll?" asked Sakura.

"I have my reasons," he said. "Anyway, I hope to see you guys in the tower. There's still about four days and a few hours until the end of the exam. Get over there, get some rest, and be ready for what's to come next. If we have to do battle with each other, you can repay me for these scrolls by showing me the full extent of your knowledge in the shinobi arts."

When he finished, he took Anko from Neji's back. Having much more strength and stamina than Neji, he had complete confidence in his ability to carry the unconscious woman to the tower. He gave one last nod to the two other squads and leaped to the trees, Tenten and Neji right beside him. Anko began to awaken when she no longer felt the painful effects of her cursed mark. She found herself on someone's back. She thought it was the Hyuuga from earlier, but it was Lee again. She looked to her sides and saw the kid's squad members, right beside him. She was about to go back to sleep when she felt her face touching a pretty muscular back. Unable to help herself, Anko traced her finger's along the kid's back, successfully tickling him, but that wasn't her intention. Anko bit her bottom lip to keep herself from squealing like a little girl. Tenten noticed, at the corner of her eye, what the test proctor was doing.

"Hey, get your hands off of him, now!" she exclaimed, blushing deeply. Anko looked to the younger girl beside her.

"Why? He's not your boyfriend, is he? she asked seductively.

"As a matter of fact, she is," Lee answered. "I'm very ticklish on my back area so I'd appreciate it if you not do what you were doing earlier."

"Damn it, you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend," said Anko, clearly disappointed. Suddenly, there was something that appeared in the Iron Monkey's mind. What was that question that she asked him earlier? Something regarding his age...?

"Hey, why did you ask earlier if I was 18 years old?" asked Lee. Tenten narrowed her eyes, unaware of that question. Neji sighed to himself. He didn't know the test proctor was that kind of woman. He knew what Anko meant when she asked Lee that question, and was fairly disgusted in her. He was a bit saddened that his friends didn't know the meaning to it, but was a bit relieved as well.

"Well for one thing, I didn't know you had a girlfriend. Second of all, I owed you a life debt. As for the third reason... you're kind of cute," she said. A vein started to pop on Tenten's temples, but it remained unseen to the others, due to her forehead protector.

"Alright, that's it. Lee, get her off of you. Neji, you take her," she said. Lee was about to question why but Neji took the woman off of his shoulders and placed her on his. Lee looked baffled, unaware of the current situation. He looked to Tenten.

"Is... something wrong?" he asked. Tenten turned away, not wanting to answer that question. Anko giggled like a little high school girl.

"Don't think too much about it, darling," she said, looking to Tenten. Said kunoichi turned to face the test proctor. "I was only joking. You can keep him for yourself but once you let go of him, he'll be to first on my list to pounce."

"I don't get what's going on here..." said Lee, sighing to himself. Neji turned to his oblivious comrade, unable to believe that someone like him didn't know what was going on. It was so obvious, it was plain as day. Anko was messing with Tenten, knowing that she had deep affections for Lee, and Tenten was falling for it. The young Hyuuga wondered what this world was coming to. He saw it easily and knew that he would never be enticed to such words that Anko gave off to Tenten. It was like Tenten was acting as the jealous girlfriend, Lee was the oblivious boyfriend, and Anko played the role as the seductive woman... wait, that's exactly how things were going right now. Neji wondered which role he played in this twisted game but immediately took it back. He wanted no part in this. Lee looked over to the young kunoichi, who still wasn't looking at him. He wanted to know what was wrong, but it was like no one would tell him and Tenten remained angry with him. He motioned for Neji to go ahead. Neji nodded and sped up as Lee slowed down. Lee tapped Tenten on the shoulder. She finally turned to him but he slowed down until he stopped. Tenten stopped as well.

"Hey, this really is my first time with this relationship thing and there's a lot of things about it that I can never quite understand. I mean, I train for fun, you know. I'm not used to have someone so much closer to me than my own training," he said. Tenten sighed and nodded.

"Alright. I should be the one apologizing. I knew that Anko was just playing around but I let my emotions get the best of me. And I know you would talk to me if there's anything on your mind. I'm sorry that I doubted you and allowed my feelings to cloud my emotions. And you're right, this is my first time too. I never really expected a relationship until I was much older and more mentally secure about the feelings that I harbored for anyone. I knew what she was talking about but I didn't know that you didn't know what she was talking about. I'm so sorry, Lee," she said. Lee nodded and embraced her in his arms.

"It's alright. We both messed up so it's easy to forgive. But you have to tell me some of these relationship meanings that Anko used. I take a lot of things literally and I got really confused when she said what she said," said Lee. They both broke from the embrace. Tenten nodded and smiled. "Well, we should get going. I'm sure Neji is pretty far by now. Besides, we can't leave him alone to care of Anko."

"Yeah, let's go," she said. He was about to go when Tenten held him by the wrist and pulled him back to her. She spun him to face her and captured his lips onto his. Lee faded into the kiss as both ninjas closed their eyes. Tenten didn't know why she did that, but it's not like Lee minded at all. When they pulled away, Lee cupped her cheek with his hands, caressing them ever so softly. He smiled at her, finally accepting the fact that love really can bloom in a battle field. This is a pretty odd place for their first of second kiss, but neither minded. They were together now, and that's what mattered. Without knowing what he was doing, Lee swept her off of her feet and carried her, bridal style. Tenten was a bit surprised but played into it. She wrapped her arms around her neck and snuggled her head into his chest. Lee bent down to kiss her on her forehead before leaping into the trees once more, catching up to Neji and Anko to complete the second portion of their exam.

Tenten smiled at herself, never feeling so safe and so much happier in her whole life. She wished that she had done this before, so her happiness could be prolonged. But they were still kids, they still had time, and Tenten vowed to herself that she wouldn't waste it. She would do whatever it took to make him happy, he deserved it. Throughout his childhood, few, if no one, had ever been there for him. Tenten knew him since childhood but never paid much attention to him, and instantly regretted it. His past wasn't as bad as Naruto's, but his time in the academy was one of the worst childhood pasts that anyone could ever have. Everyone constantly made fun of him for being unable to learn ninjutsu or genjutsu, and his taijutsu was just as bad... but he had something that they didn't have and wouldn't have in a million years. He had and still has determination and that allowed him to rise into the shinobi that he now is. She never helped him, never observed him, but that's probably why she never noticed how much stronger he was becoming. The young kunoichi felt slightly ashamed that it took so long for her to notice who he was inside, not who everyone claimed him to be.

Lee looked down at his significant other. Although they had only become an unofficial couple for a mere few hours, he felt so attached to her, like he didn't want to leave her side. He knew that she knew of his healing ability being much more potent than hers, so why was it that she reacted so defensively when he was shot down by one of Sasuke's Phoenix Flower fire bombs? She should know that he would almost instantly heal from something as weak as that, but she ran to him anyway and knocked Sasuke out in the process. In a way, he sort of felt relieved that she cared so strongly for him. She was really the first person, besides Gai-sensei and his father, to ever love him. No one else did, the academy students, most of his peers, Neji probably didn't care for him too much at all. And in such a sense, he wanted to protect her. He's aware that he trained her well enough for her to take care of herself, but it was as if he had an odd sensation flowing about him. The sensation told him to protect Tenten with everything he was and that's what he planned to do. As he ran, Tenten's hand slipped down to his back, feeling his bare skin.

"You should get that fixed," she said.

"Yeah, I'll sow it back when we get there," he said. In the time that he trained with his father, in the cave of the Iron Monkey, he was forced to learn to sow so he could fix his clothing. At first, he royally sucked at it, but he got better. Without prior knowledge, his father was actually pretty skilled at sowing, having forced to learn it by his wife, Lee's mother. He also learned that his own mother wasn't the type to be pushed around by anyone, especially his father, and that's why he loved and married her. Lee smiled at that thought as those very qualities reflected upon Tenten. She didn't like getting pushed around by anyone, that's why she asked him to train her. She wanted to become stronger so she could protect herself from those who thought that kunoichi couldn't perform as well as shinobi. It was a true intention, so Lee was attracted to it.

"Did you bring an extra sowing kit with my colors? I'm not sure if I have enough on me," he said, hoping for the best.

"Come on, Lee. Have a little faith in me, will you?" she chided, giggling along the way. It kind of surprised her that he knew how to sow, as not many men took the time to handle that ability. Most men were the macho types and would just buy new clothes if theirs became too damaged or worn out. But Lee liked his clothing so much that he would sow it back on whenever it was broken, and she figured that to be a great quality in a man. She herself wasn't too good at sowing, being much better in crafting weapons for other ninjas. It was really a good trade off between them. He sowed her clothes while she made his weapons. It was really a bit unfair though, as he was a taijutsu specialist and had little use for weaponry, but she helped in any way she could. It was actually her who crafted his kunai blades, and he even took time to properly get used to them, like he got used to his staff.

When they reached the tower, Neji was right outside, leaning against a wall. He explained that Anko already went inside but wouldn't allow him to follow. She said that if he entered without his squad, he would be disqualified. He also said that Kiba, Hinata, and Shino, were already inside, having just entered a couple of hours ago. Lee nodded at this fact, knowing from Gai-sensei that Kurenai-sensei's squad is a specialist in survival missions and other such tasks. When all three were ready, they entered the tower together. When they were inside, Tenten noticed a plaque on the wall before them. She read it out loud but noticed a few words missing in the paragraph. It was then that Neji remembered about their scrolls and how they were instructed to open them when they set foot in the tower.

"I think we're supposed to open our scrolls now. Anko did say that we're supposed to do it when we reached the tower and here we are," said Neji. Lee and Tenten nodded as Tenten reached inside her shuriken pouch, having placed her earth scroll in there. Lee pulled out his kunai blades, ready to defend himself and his squad from anything that might happen to them, should there be anything dangerous within the scroll. Tenten and Neji dropped the scroll on the floor as smoke filled the area. Although the smoke nearly blinded them, Lee saw right through it. A man appeared from the smoke and charged at Neji. He threw something which resembled a kunai knife, at Tenten. Tenten caught the kunai by inserting her index finger on the circular base of the knife. She ran to the left side of the man and blocked his kunai on his left fist, as Lee ran to the right and blocked the kunai on his right fist. When both were in position, Neji had his byakugan activated and his fingertips on the man's torso, ready to seal his tenketsu points. When the smoke cleared, Asuma Sarutobi was seen smiling. He backed away from the young genin squad and took another puff at his cigarette.

"Good, very good. You guys are prepared. Gai has taught you well," he said.

"Asuma-sensei? What are you doing here?" asked Tenten.

"Well, I'm the one assigned to this pair of scrolls to knock out the squad who was foolish enough to open the scrolls too early," he said. "But seeing as how you three were able to defend yourselves rather adequately, I'll admit that even I would have had a bit of trouble with taking you three down. But before I tell you what else I'm doing here, I'm curious to know why you three didn't knock me down. I attacked you, you defended yourselves, but why did you stop?"

"I can answer that one," said Lee. Asuma, Tenten, and Neji, turned to him. "You're the only shinobi that I know in the leaf village who smokes a cigarette and wouldn't mind doing it when minors are around. Seriously though, Asuma-sensei, you really should quit doing that. I saw the lit end of your cigarette even through the thick smoke and I knew instantly that it could only be one person."

"Good eye," he said, nodding at him. "Anyway, I'm here to congratulate you for completing the second portion of your chunin exam. If you've read the plaque behind me, you'll notice that there are a few words missing from it. Those can be found by reading the earth and heaven scrolls that you guys picked up in the forest of death from other squads. If you're confident in your physical ability, follow the heaven scroll to achieve spiritual and mental enlightenment. If you're confident in your mental and spiritual ability, follow the earth scroll to achieve the peak of your physical skills. Both must be in balance to create a powerful shinobi. Always bear in mind that you can't outbalance the scale or nothing will fit. You as a shinobi or kunoichi won't be able to function to your fullest extent."

"I see, that makes perfect sense," said Lee. "Back then, I thought that if I had a good body and the ability to react to anything, I would be successful in all of my missions with my squad. But when I met a special someone, he taught me that I was wrong for thinking that way. I trained my mind and spirit by meditating under a waterfall. When I honed that part of myself, nothing was really impossible for me. I became more aware of things and no longer rushed into battle without having a strategy in mind."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about, Lee," said Asuma. Tenten nodded and smiled, knowing who it was that Lee met. Neji was a bit curious, but would probably ask him later. "Anyway, the third part of your chunin exam, since there's so much you who are left from the second part, will be an event that hasn't been held in years. Normally, you're supposed to face off against each other in front of a lot of people, in the chunin stadium, but as I said before, there's more candidates here than last year, or the years before. The third part will be a preliminary round."

"A preliminary?" asked Neji. "For what?"

"It's an elimination round where you fight against whoever passed the test, once. If you win, you proceed to the finals. If you lose, the game's over for you. This is to eliminate the ones who possibly passed by a fluke or by leeching on from the work of their squad or passed just by mere luck. This part will take individual skill. There will be a machine that chooses who you are pitted against and is 100 percent random. I'll warn you now though, there is a chance that you may be pitted against your own group," he said. Neji slowly looked to his companions. He knew that they were both much stronger and faster than him, from what he witnessed in this overall exam. But he had confidence in his techniques. It was really only Lee that he worried about. Not only Lee's speed, but also that quick healing ability that he witnessed earlier, when he healed from the Uchiha's fire jutsu. There must be a weakness to that. Tenten grinned at the thought of being pitted against her boyfriend. At first, she was a bit afraid, but she had nothing to lose. Even if she failed this exam, she would still be there for him, no matter what. They were one now, and one defeat from him wouldn't change anything.

"Alright, get some rest and be ready in four days. Enter through the door behind me and there will be medical ninja who will show you to your temporary quarters. Later!" he said as he vanished in the same puff of smoke that he appeared in. They nodded and entered through the door. There were indeed medical shinobi and kunoichi there, awaiting their arrival.

"You must be the third group to pass. Right this way then," said one of the representatives, walking away. Team Gai nodded and followed. Upon arriving at their quarters, the medical ninjas stepped to the side, allowing the squad to gaze at their temporary room for the next few days until the second part of the exam comes to a close. It didn't look too bad and seemed like it could house a good several others. It was equipped with everything that would accommodate anyone, ninja or civilian. There was also a private restroom beside the main closet, providing a jacuzzi for three people, a shower, a toilet, and a sink.

"As you can see, this room is equipped with everything a 3-man squad would need. We understand that three are participating in this year's chunin exam, hosted by the leaf village. To help you train, we've fitted a much larger room, downstairs, with most of the accessories that a shinobi or kunoichi would need to to accommodate his or her training. You may relax in here if you wish, or you could go downstairs and train. The choice is yours. As for us, we have to wait downstairs, in the lobby, for any other squad that may be coming in early," he said as the medical squad bowed to the shinobi squad before them and proceeded to their destination. Tenten and Lee stepped further inside the room to have a better look around. Neji wasn't sure what his teammates would do, but he had to train, in case he was partnered up with either of them.

"Alright, I'm going to go downstairs and train. I have to prepare myself for any battle that will be coming up," he said.

"You should relax a bit too," Tenten suggested. "You and I fought off three squads today, just to get the right scroll that we needed."

"Perhaps, but look at you. While we were looking for a heaven scroll and met up with other squads, you jumped in my place whenever a jutsu was about to hit me that I couldn't block. And look, your clothes may be a bit tattered but you look fine, not a single scratch on your body. You were really acting like my human shield, Tenten, do you know how bad that makes me look?" he asked, trying to contain his humiliation. Tenten nodded and looked away, feeling a little guilty that she was over-using her healing ability. But she knew in her heart that she had good intentions. Most of the attacks that she took probably would have injured him really badly, but she realized that men have their pride. "Look, I'm not trying to beat down on you, Tenten. I appreciate that you were just trying to help me, but I have to get stronger too. And... I have to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

"Can you heal... like Lee can?" he asked. Lee's eyes narrowed a bit but returned to normal almost as quickly. He figured that Neji saw him heal after he took that Phoenix Flower to his back and ended up unscathed. Tenten looked to Lee, unsure if she should reveal the secret that has only remained between them and one other person. During their time inside the cave, Lee told her that he mentioned his abilities to Iruka-sensei, but no other. If their old teacher can be trusted, why not an old friend? Lee nodded to her and handed her one of his shuriken. Tenten took it with one hand and raised it to her opposite shoulder. She plunged it inside and dragged it down about three inches, creating a small wound. Neji narrowed his eyes and watched as the wound bled for about a second and then closed. Tenten picked up a towel from a nearby table and wiped the blood from her shoulder. Neji nodded.

"I see. Well, I need to train. I don't know how it happened but you two have gotten much stronger than I have in such a short amount of time. And it appears that you two are capable of rapid healing. If I'm to be pitted against either of you, I have to find a way to get around your healing abilities," he said.

"I'm not sure you can," said Tenten, looking apologetic. "Our healing ability is passive, and that means no chakra involved. It's not a jutsu, that's why Lee can do it. There's no hand signs or chakra manipulation required. Our bodies heal when they are damaged, against our own free will. And another thing is, it provides us with a constant stream of stamina regeneration as well, to help us to last in battles longer. Lee's healing ability is more potent than mine, as his activates upon taking damage and allows him to fight for a much longer time than I can. Mine activates a little later, heals a little slower, and provides a little less stamina."

"But that still comes in handy during tight situations, or any situation at all. If yours is less potent than Lee's, then that must mean..." he said, looking to his other comrade. He quickly picked up a kunai, from his pouch, and tossed it to Lee. Said shinobi allowed the kunai to travel to wherever it needed to. It wasn't because he knew he could survive it. It was because he knew that Neji's aim was true. The kunai scratched a wound on his cheek. Blood was about to come out but it was pulled back inside the cheek as the wound closed entirely. "That's what I thought. Hence, I have to train. I refuse to fail this exam."

"Neji, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier," said Lee, walking up to him.

"It's nothing that you have to feel sorry for. If anything, I should be the one who's sorry for not helping you two when you needed it. I think karma has finally caught up to me, and allowed you two to attain levels of power that I couldn't even dream about. I guess this is what I get for always saying that one's destiny can never be changed," he said as he walked away and closed the door, leaving two very guilty genin to themselves. Lee sighed sat down, taking out his sowing kit from his pouch, as well as some other materials. He took off his hard-leather armor and undershirt, exposing his bare chest. Lee noticed that he had to fix the back-side of his hard-leather armor, and his long sleeve garment. He was about to start sowing back together, the back-side of his long sleeve shirt, knowing that it was probably easier to start with that first, when Tenten sat down on the same couch, leaned in and kissed him on the neck, removing the needle from one of his hands and the garment from his other hand. She took them both and placed them on the floor below.

"Tenten? Um... something on your mind?" he asked. He didn't admit it but he actually liked how she was making him feel right now. It really did do him a lot of good, seeing as though he had to deal with Orochimaru, Anko's nonsense, and Sasuke's cursed mark. Oh what was he thinking? He needed something like this to calm him down. Lee inhaled her scent, allowing the sweet aroma of her skin to intoxicate his senses. Tenten placed her legs beside his, locking the position, and smiled.

"I can sense your tension, sweetheart, and that's not something that your body can heal. I'm not sure how much I can do for you, but let me try and remove at least a little. For now until later, let's just be ourselves," she said, snuggling into his neck and allowing her breath to cascade down his chest. Lee returned the smile.

"Can I do the same to you? You took quite a beating for Neji and those muscles of yours must be at least a little sore. You said it yourself, your healing ability isn't as potent as mine," he said, bending down to suck on the flesh of her neck.

"Mmm... that feels... pretty good..." she said.

"Is that a compliment?"

"No, it's a warning."

"A warning? Why?"

"A warning because if you keep doing it, I'm really going to lose control. I might go totally insane with you and I prefer to keep my sanity," she said. As Lee continued, hearing her moans and all, he began to weigh his options. Did he want a girlfriend to lose her sanity for one night and show him a good time so he wouldn't have to think about all his stress for a while? ... sounds like a plan. For a few more seconds, Lee's mouth moved to her ear, nibbling a bit of the flesh as well.

"Lee... oh god... are you sure you... really want to keep doing that?" she asked through moans.

"Is that another warning?" he asked, stopping a bit and allowing his exhalation to warm her up.

"No, it's a dare."

"Let me guess, you're daring me to keep going but if I do so, it'll blow your mind. Am I about right so far?"

"Right on the nail."

"Is there a double dare option?" Lee asked, as he moved to her lips and kissed her again. Tenten smiled to him as he allowed himself to lay down properly, his girlfriend on top of him as she started devouring his lips into another passionate kiss. They knew their limits, it's not like they were drunk or anything. Lee inwardly smiled to himself, achieving his first snuggling session. His eyes moved to a clock that hung just above the door where they came through from. It's almost midnight, but he didn't feel all that tired at all. It's probably all the adrenaline from today's events. He ran through the forest for hours, faced off against Orochimaru, had to carry Anko all around, fought with Sasuke for a while as he had his cursed mark activated, saved Naruto and Sakura from being human marshmallows and... fell in love. Oh yeah, he needed this alright. His attention diverted back to Tenten and returned the kiss with enhanced passion. Tenten pulled away softly and grazed her lips onto his, teasing him a bit.

"The night is young," she said.

"And tonight, you're all mine," he replied as they smiled to each other.

"Just the way I like it," they said simultaneously as they kissed each other again.

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Alas, another update. You know, honestly speaking, I wrote this chapter about two months ago and when I read over it, before posting, I saw so many grammar errors that I almost puked. Well, aside from that, I hope you guys liked the little LeexTen that I added in the end of the chapter. There's a lot more to come, regarding those two, but you'll just have to stay tuned for further chapters. As of now, I've almost finished typing out the first part of this story, which consists of 23 chapters. What do you guys think about me starting a shippuuden series? It was on my mind while I was writing chapter 22 but I want to know what you guys think. Man, my story will be long. I know the ending but even I don't know how long it's going to take to actually get to that phase of my story. Well, it was bound to be long. The title does say "Legend of the Iron Monkey" after all. It's Lee's legend and uhh... you'll find out more if you keep reading.

Ja ne!


	10. Chapter 10

**Legend of the Iron Monkey**

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own a single shred of Naruto.

Chapter 10: The Nail Cutter and the Lotion

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As the sun arose to start a new day, the sun brought its shine through the window of the room, shared by team Gai. They had successfully completed the second part of their chunin exam ahead of many other squads and were allowed to rest in the tower until the five day period was over. So far, there are four days left until the end of the forest of death exam, so there was a lot of time to take care of anything else. Normally, after the second part of the chunin exam, the finals would be held where genin would test their skills in a one-on-one match against a randomly chosen opponent. The village leaders and land lords would from other surrounding countries were supposed to come and observe the remaining genin and decide which of them would become chunin, as they were the ones who would be choosing them for future missions. But due to a large quantity of candidates still remaining, a preliminary match was decided by the Hokage and the council. The priority of the exam would be to weed out the weak so that only the very best would be the ones that the village leaders and land lords would watch. They didn't want to waste their time on any others.

Neji had returned to the room quite early in the morning, after grueling hours of training, but still had no luck with how to dispel the healing abilities of his comrades. If Tenten was right and that their ability consumed no chakra, then concealing their tenketsu points would be pointless. He made that mistake with Lee already, and his healing ability just reopened the points that Neji had closed with his jutsu. But then, Neji had weighed his options during his training. Chances are, there would be other squads that would finish their exam and arrive at the tower. And because the machine that would decide their combat opponents, chose at a purely random chance percentage, there's a high chance that he would be pitted against someone else. Finding a loophole to their healing ability would be something that would take a very long time, one that couldn't be achieved in a few mere days. And it wasn't just their regeneration that was the problem.

Their physical strength and speed was a definite issue too. Neji assumed that Lee would be stronger and faster than Tenten. If Tenten's speed was already to the point where she couldn't be seen, Neji knew that Lee would be so much more of a difficult opponent. And because of his healing ability's second effect, giving him a constant flow of stamina, he would be a far more difficult opponent. Back then, Lee only ran on stamina, but now that he had a near endless supply, the one who would be exhausted first would be his opponent. The Hyuuga knew that there's no getting passed Lee's stamina, and the fact that he didn't run on chakra was another large problem. When a shinobi ran out of chakra, he's pretty much a dead punchingbag, waiting to be killed. Outlasting him would be impossible, matching his strength would be foolish, and matching his speed was just too much of a request. Lee had gotten stronger in every possible way and it just ticked the Hyuuga off. Neji slept on the bed that was meant for the three of them. When he entered the room, he was absolutely disgusted with the sight that he saw.

Lee and Tenten had fallen asleep on a couch, Lee being on top of Tenten. There was no sexual intention involved, as they both still had their clothes on, when Neji last saw them, but that sight was still something that he didn't plan on seeing at all. But that was hours ago. When Tenten awoke to start her day, she yawned and smiled, but felt something missing somewhere. Her eyes were still closed, still half asleep. She trailed her hands where Lee's body should have been, but he wasn't there. Disappointed and slightly agitated that her boyfriend didn't wait for her before he started his day, she opened her eyes and was about to get up when she noticed something. He was right there, next to her, knitting something that looked like black clothing. Tenten smiled and remained on a laying position, no longer finding the need to get up. If Lee was there, that's all she needed. It didn't look like he noticed that she had woken up, being too focused with what he was doing. Tenten decided to kick him on the side, playfully, just enough to let it be known to him that his girlfriend was awake. When she kicked him, he turned to her and smiled genuinely. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

"Slept well?" he asked.

"Yeah. Better than most days," she replied, kissing him back. Lee smiled and returned to his sowing. For some reason, Tenten found her arm clenching on the blanket that was over her body. Shrugging to herself, she was about to get up when Lee's voice stopped her. "You might want to wait until I finish."

"Finish what?" she asked.

"You asked me, about an hour ago, to knit your upper garments, as well as your sleeve less undershirt," he said, not taking his eyes off of his knitting. Tenten's face flushed bright red as she looked under her blanket. Flustered, her mouth opened at him.

"I didn't say that! I don't even remember being awake an hour ago!" she said. "Hold on, did you take my clothes off?"

"Yeah. You were too tired to do it yourself so you asked me to do it with my eyes closed. I figured, sure, why not? Don't worry though, I didn't see anything that I wasn't supposed to see," he said, assuring her of the best. Tenten exhaled a breath of relief. It wasn't the fear of seeing her naked that bothered the young kunoichi, it was more leaning to the fact that she actually allowed him to take her under shirt and upper garment off. She shook the thought from her mind, she didn't really mind too much. As long as he was the one that did it and no one else, she didn't mind. Any part of her body that wasn't covered with clothes that she wouldn't show to anyone else, was for his eyes alone to see. If it were anyone else besides him, that person would have gone through the tower walls by now. Tenten sighed, at least she had her under garments on. Just then, she wondered what happened to her other teammate.

"Hey, what happened to Neji? Did he ever come back?" she asked. Lee nodded as he finished the garment that he was sowing. He held it over his line of vision, making sure that it was just right. He returned it to Tenten, it was her sleeve less undershirt. Tenten was about to wear it over her body, but decided not to. Earlier last night, when they were first shown the room, she found a closet nearby that probably contained some clothes. She decided to save her kunoichi outfit for the preliminary rounds so they don't get too messed up. Lee then got to work on sowing his girlfriend's upper garment. There wasn't much that was wrong with it, just a couple of scratches from kunai or shuriken, and a couple of holes from some jutsus.

"He's sleeping over there in the bed behind us. The bed is big enough for three or four people, but since we fell asleep on this couch, Neji took the liberty of hogging the bed to himself. He was kind enough to give us a blanket though," he replied. Tenten nodded, still holding on to the white blanket that was over their bodies. After Lee finished sowing the small holes and scratches, he gave it to Tenten, who started folding it. As Lee got started on his upper garment and undershirt, Tenten stood up and walked to the closet that she saw last night. When she stood, Lee took a glance at her upper back and waist curves, whispering to himself something about being an incredibly lucky fool. Much to her pleasure, Tenten found a few shirts and a few pairs of pants, inside the closet. She took her arm guards skirt, lacings, flip-flops, and high socks off, as she placed the pants and shirt on. She threw Lee a shirt and a pair of pants as well, but different colors. Her shirt was white and her pants were gray. Lee had a plain red shirt and a pair of white pants.

"Lee, is there a laundry machine here?" she asked, gathering her belongings. Lee placed how sowing kit down, as well as his materials and garments, so he could take off his pants. When they were taken off, Tenten was turned around but stole a quick glance at his toned legs. She smiled at what she saw and turned around again, maintaining her manners. Lee placed the pants and the shirt on and threw his shinobi outfit to Tenten.

"I saw a washing machine over there in the bathroom," he said, pointing to the direction of the bathroom. Tenten nodded and opened the door to it. She opened the hatch and started the water. Since her parents were gone, on missions or errands, most of the time, Tenten learned to wash clothes on her own. She was adequate with hand washing but prefered the machine to save time. She saw the soap required, on the drying machine, and placed just the right amount. As she placed her and Lee's clothes, Lee ran inside with Neji's clothes in his hands. Tenten narrowed her eyes at him. "Yeah, I just remembered. Neji asked me to get his shinobi outfit washed when I would get mine washed. He changed clothes last night, when he arrived, and when I was about to sleep."

"Okay," said Tenten. Lee placed his comrade's clothes inside the machine and closed the hatch. He pressed a red button on the machine as it started to work its cleaning magic. "By the way, is there breakfast anywhere? I'm a bit hungry."

"Oh yeah. Even with your healing powers, you still get hungry, don't you?" he asked as he felt his stomach grumbling too. Tenten looked at his stomach, making sure that's what she heard. She raised an eye brow and looked back at him.

"You too? When was the last time you ate?"

"I'd say a good..." he trailed off, thinking. Because of the spirit of the Iron Monkey inside him, he didn't hunger for food as much as everyone else did, but when was hungry, it was a problem. He remembered eating all of their rations, when Tenten was training in the cave of the Iron Monkey, just because he was hungry. "... six days ago. But don't worry. I was downstairs earlier with one of the medic shinobi and he showed me a diner where squads can get a pretty good meal. The meal is cooked by some of the finest in the leaf village. He showed me the way but I told him I would wait for at least one of my teammates. I asked Neji but he was still training at the time. So I came back here and got a bit of sleep until about two minutes before he arrived. He gave us a pretty disgusted look though... not sure why."

"I can take a guess but that can come later. Can you take me to that place? I'm really starving," she requested. Lee nodded as he looked around the room for something. When he found what he was looking for, he grabbed the paper and a pencil that were both on a table, near their couch. He wrote what looked like a note, telling Neji that they went ahead to the genin lounge. He left the note on the couch where they slept on and left the room with Tenten. They closed the door gently, careful not to awaken Neji, as Lee led the way. When they arrived downstairs, Tenten took a look at her surroundings. She had the chance before, but didn't take it, not knowing why. As they walked, an aroma of good smelling food, entered her nostrils. It smelled like fried rice and beef stew, one of her favorites. When they arrived, it didn't look as fancy as she thought, but it wasn't too bad either. There were chairs and tables around the place, with a couple of squads already there. Team Kurenai and the ninjas of the sand were there, consuming their breakfast in silence. Lee's and Gaara's eyes met for a second, but lasted no longer. Kiba saw them together.

"Hey, you guys made it after all. I saw Neji in the training room earlier, working his butt off. I've never seen him so determined about something. But it must be for those preliminary rounds that I've heard about," he said. Hinata and Shino nodded in agreement. "So where's Neji?"

"Out like a log," said Lee. "The poor guy was so exhausted when I saw him last night."

"Yeah. I've never really seen him train before, but I didn't know someone like him could put so much effort into training. I thought people like him were born with talent and didn't need to train so hard, like the rest of us," said Kiba. Lee was about to say something but chose not to as Tenten arrived with a pair of steaming plates, on each of her hands. It was fried rice and beef stew for the both of them. Tenten smiled at him as she started eating. Lee figured that she ordered him something while he was chatting with Kiba. They both settled down on a table next to their fellow colleagues. Lee helped himself to his meal and almost cried from the taste of the food. It was so delicious, and it tasted familiar too. It was at that point when Lee saw someone behind the counter, the one person who could be capable of cooking something like this. It was Teuchi, the owner of the Ichiraku ramen stand. This was definitely his style, but not his art. The taijutsu master thought that he only made ramen, but this was pretty good too. Tenten looked to him.

"Hey, think we can squeeze in a bit of training after this?" she asked. "I don't want Neji to be the only one to take advantage of our stay here. We don't know what those sand ninja are capable of and we really should get ahead while we can. That guy with the red hair looks pretty dangerous."

"Yeah. His name is Gaara. He and I became acquainted before the start of the first phase of the chunin exam. He has a power inside him that does feel a little scary," said Lee. Tenten nodded in agreement. Before Lee was about to say something else, Shino spoke.

"Do any of you know if any other teams made it here after us? As far as my bugs have seen, when I told some of them to explore the area, it's just us and those sand ninja who are here right now," he said. The rest of them shrugged, except Hinata. She scanned the entire tower earlier, with her byakugan.

"It's just us for now, but I expect another squad making their way here shortly," she said. Lee nodded as he finished his meal. Tenten finished hers as well as both of them stood.

"When you guys are done, why not join us for a bit of sparring in the training room?" asked Lee. Kiba, Hinata, and Shino, nodded. As they left the dining hall, Lee led them both to a pretty secluded yet very large training room. They stretched for about 15 minutes and also allowed their stomachs to quell the food that they consumed for breakfast. When they finished with their warm ups, Kiba and his squad arrived just in time. "Hey, you guys made it. Tenten and I are just going to do a bit of light sparring for a bit. While we do that, why don't you three do some of your own exercises? This is a pretty big room and I'm sure it can accommodate to all of us."

Kiba nodded as Hinata and Shino gathered on opposite sides, ready to attack him. It was a bit blunt, but it was just how the Inuzuka liked it. Tenten and Lee slipped into their fighting stances and reached for their pouches... only to realize that they weren't there. It took them about two seconds to realize that they tools and other weaponry were all left in the room that they stayed in. They sighed to each other, not having their weapons for training, but didn't mind it too much. A light taijutsu practice should be enough to get some blood pumping in their systems. Tenten was the one to charge at him first, making the first attack. Lee awaited for her to come within range of his kick. When she entered his circular space, he flipped to the air, forming a spinning kick that was heading straight for her face, but all he hit was air. Tenten swerved to the side and leaped to her other colleagues. As Shino threw two kunai knives at Kiba, Tenten caught those knives and leaped back to Lee, from Shino's shoulders. She traveled to him like a spinning drill, but he stepped back in time to avoid it.

Tenten ran up to him and started her flurry of weapon related attacks. Since she forgot her tools back in the suite, she would have to make do with Shino's belongings. When Tenten saw an opening, she swept him off of his feet. Before Lee fell to the ground, he grabbed her ankle and swung her body over his own, slamming her to the ground. Just as she landed, Tenten grabbed Lee's hand with her toes, and tossed him to a wall. Lee twisted his body to the left and only made an imprint on the wall with the left side of his body. He pulled himself out and smirked. Team Kurenai, who had been watching them since Tenten stole Shino's kunai knives, were amazed at how hard core their training was. The ground was made of concrete and still, Lee wasn't afraid of showing a bit more muscle into his moves than he should let out. And speaking of muscle, it looked like Tenten developed some, as lifting Lee didn't seem too hard for her legs.

"Whoa, getting a bit too rough there, are we?" asked Kiba. "You guys should tone it down a bit or you can seriously hurt each other."

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Kiba, Hinata, and Shino, panted hard after four grueling hours of training. They had completed their training regime that Kurenai assigned them to do if ever they had free time. Kiba was able to hold his own against Shino and Hinata. Shino was able to do the same against his two comrades, but Hinata was different. She held her own for a while but didn't last very long. They knew that it couldn't be because of the lack of stamina that was the problem, as they were all at about the same level in skill when Kurenai took them under her wing. She trained them all equally, so there had to be something else besides stamina. Hinata never really revealed the problem, as she didn't really know it herself. All she knew was that she couldn't fight for as long as her two comrades could and was ashamed of it. She wanted to be as strong as them... as strong as the one whom she admired. Perhaps it wasn't the lack of stamina, but the lack of self-belief. She thought she had gotten passed that problem, but perhaps not. When they finished their training, they looked at the other two who shared the room with them.

Lee and Tenten were still at it, their fighting spirit still flaming with the ferocity as it burned with, four hours ago. Tenten no longer held Shino's kunai knives, as those lay forgotten on the ground. Three and a half hours ago, just as Lee evaded a spinning kick from Tenten, he tossed the key to his room, to Shino. He asked the bug user to enter his room and grab the ninja pouches that lay near the washing machine. Lee also requested for a cylinder shaped sheath, to be retrieved, which was right next to the pouches. When Shino retrieved them, he tossed them to the two. Lee and Tenten both grabbed their accessories. Now, the ground was littered with ninja weaponry, and they still weren't tired. Neji arrived about an hour ago and started training on his own. Out of boredom and the need to do something, Shino joined the Hyuuga in his training and even sparred with him. Neji never realized it before, but Shino was a lot like him, and wasn't a bad fighter either. Tenten crouched down and jumped in the air, completely avoiding both kicks of Lee's Leaf Hurricane technique.

When she landed on the ground, Lee spun another full 360 degree turn, sweeping her off of her feet. He was about to continue his strike when Tenten slammed the ground with her palm, breaking her fall and cartwheeling to the side. She backflipped as she landed, kicked off of the wall, and charged at the taijutsu master. Just as she was about to strike, Tenten vanished from the air and surprised Lee with a kick to the chin, from below. She leaped into the air and kicked his body down. As Lee fell, he rolled on the ground to save his fall. Tenten landed on the ground and prepared herself for more. Lee readied his stance as well. Both leaf ninja decided to take it up a notch and zipped from their current location. Although capable of greater speeds, they didn't want to show too much of their abilities to their friends. They appeared a few feet from each other. Both fighters, thinking of the same thing, spun in the same direction, formed the same kick, and crashed their legs on each other. A crack of bones was heard as Tenten's leg was struck down. The kunoichi grunted in pain as Lee spun around and back-kicked her stomach, sending her crashing to the wall behind her. Lee walked up to her as her bones mended themselves and stretched a hand out.

"I think that's enough for now. We can continue later, but I need a shower," he said, helping her out. Tenten took his hand and pulled herself out. Once she felt her leg heal, her back fixed itself as well. She was definitely glad for having such a useful ability, but often wondered if she could ever defeat her boyfriend. Unlike him, she didn't possess the ability to get stronger after healing from a dangerous wound. Although none of her blows were dangerous, the power that was given to him from his kekkei genkai was tremendous. She smiled to herself. She would just have to train harder so she could keep up with him, and the healing ability would allow her to train for days without tiring. As she trained, she felt her healing ability becoming faster, every time her body became damaged. If compared to a video game, her healing ability would gain experience points every time it was used. When the experience gauge reached its peak, her healing ability would level up. At least that's something to smile upon, as well as the mastery of skills that she receives as she trains.

"Ladies first, mister. I need the shower too," she said. At this point, both of their bodies reeked with sweat, but they didn't mind. Kiba, Shino, and Hinata, wondered how those two could fight so long. Neji never really told them as he figured that Lee or Tenten would tell them when they were ready, or they would find out just as he did. Either way, it wasn't his place to divulge the secrets of his friends, to other people, even if those other people are his friends too. Tenten grabbed her pouch and pulled out a scroll. She unrolled it and looked to her boyfriend. "Hey, can you help me gather my ninja tools? I need to put them back in this scroll. Just grab them and throw them inside the scroll. They'll go in on their own."

"Yeah, sure. Sounds like fun," he replied as he started picking up the ninja weaponry and tossed them inside the scroll, treating it like a popular western sport that his father told him of during his travels, called basket ball. Tenten smiled and giggled to herself as she watched him throw her ninja tools into her weapons scroll. He is so strong, so powerful, and extremely skilled, yet he treats life like it's nothing but a game... and he's having fun with it. That's one of the things that she enjoyed about him. He took his training and shinobi life seriously, as if life depended on it, but when it came to everything else, it was all just fun and games. Once, during her training in the cave, he told her that life was too short. Even though their healing ability slowed their aging process, life still wasn't long enough to fully enjoy. He told her to take her training and her kunoichi life seriously, but have fun with life too. She was a bit against it at first, not wishing to treat life as one big game board. But when she saw how much fun he was having, when he bathed inside the river, near the cave of the Iron Monkey, it was that part of her life that she missed all along, and he reawakened it from within her. Tenten joined him in his fun and looked to her other peers.

"Hey, this is pretty fun. You guys should come and join us. There's a lot of ninja tools to go around, just don't hurt yourselves. All you have to do is take them and toss them inside the parchment layer of the scroll. Come on!" she said. Kiba and Hinata nodded, allowing themselves a decent activity to do. Shino and Neji chose to sit it out, being uninterested in such childish games when their time could be spent training and getting stronger. If it was a game that related bugs, or being in the forest, Shino would have jumped at the opportunity. But the game that his comrades contained no such quality, leaving him uninterested. Neji just wanted to train, period. He was sick of having his comrades stronger than him, but it was probably a good thing. That drove him to train harder and a become better shinobi.

When they finished their game, the ground was completely clean. Kiba and Hinata thanked them for the fun activity, then joined with Shino and Neji to continue their training. Tenten rolled up her weapons scroll and placed it back inside her pouch. She and Lee grabbed their belongings and headed for their room. When they exited the training room, they met up with Shikamaru's squad, who seemed to have just arrived. They were following a medic nin, who was probably showing them to their rooms.

"Hey guys. I see that you all passed as well?" asked Lee.

"Yeah, we did," said Choji. It was at that moment when Lee remembered about Naruto's squad. He recalled handing them a scroll so they could enter the tower and finish their exam. So where were they now? They should have been here right after his own squad had arrived, or maybe a few minutes after, seeing as though Sasuke wasn't in such a great condition after Tenten made him eat ground dirt. "Choji, did you guys meet up with Naruto's squad on your way here? I thought they already obtained the scroll that they needed."

"Yeah, we met them yesterday," said Ino. "But both Sasuke and Naruto agreed that they would obtain a scroll on their own and burned one of their scrolls. They didn't say which one, but they did said something about maintaining their honor as shinobi. Sakura disagreed but Sasuke and Naruto seemed pretty adamant in their decision. It really does sicken me that they have so much pride, but then again, who am I to judge?"

"No, it's not a bad quality that they are like that. I actually commend them for making that decision," said Lee. "One must seek his own glory to find true satisfaction. I was the one who gave them the scroll that they needed. I thought they would take advantage of my generosity, but it's good that they didn't. It actually increases the respect that I have for them."

"Heh, I see," said Shikamaru. "You share the same views as they do and that's not entirely a bad thing. If it were me, I'd have taken the scroll and come here as fast as I can, but I understand why they want to attain their scroll on their own. I just hope they know what they're doing. Even if they are now my opponents, I still hope that they make it here."

"That's good, I hope for the same. Anyway, enjoy your stay here. There's a dining lounge down this hall, to the right. There's also a training room down this hall, but to the left. If you go now, I think you'll meet up with Kiba's squad, and Neji. They've been there for a while now and might be leaving soon. You should use this time to get in any last minute training, before the preliminary rounds commence," said Lee. Shikamaru nodded as they walked up the stairs to their room. Lee took Tenten's hand as they both made their way to their room. This was actually the first time that they held hands, and Tenten found herself blushing again. She actually lost count on how many times Lee made her blush, but it didn't matter now. When they reached the room, Tenten was the first to enter the restroom. She closed the door, about to lock it, but didn't. She knew that Lee wouldn't stare, even if she would allow him to. If he needed anything in the restroom, he would come in and take care of his business. There's a sheet that divided the shower from the rest of the restroom, so that's something to be glad for. If there was another person in the room, she would have locked it. When she turned on the shower water and began to undress, Lee knocked on the door.

"Tenten, how long will you be in there?" he asked. Tenten entered the shower.

"A while, why? Do you need something?" she asked back.

"Yeah, I forgot my nail cutter there, on one of the drawers," he said.

"Then come inside and get it. The door is unlocked," she replied. For a while, she didn't get an answer, and when she didn't, she figured that he heard her anyway. It wasn't until a good 20 seconds later when she heard Lee speak.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. It's unlocked, so come on in and get your nail cutter."

"But... it's inappropriate."

"It's alright, as long as it's you. Besides, there's a waterproof sheet that divides the shower from the rest of the bathroom. You won't be able to see me anyway. And even if there wasn't, I trust you. I know you won't take a peek and even if you did, I don't know if I could find it in myself to get mad at you for it. I don't feel that there's a secret that I have to hide from you, even those that I should probably keep to myself until we are both a little older," she said, feeling herself turn red again. It wasn't because of the hot water, it was because she was practically inviting a boy inside while she showered. But he was no ordinary boy. He was so much more than that. Tenten heard the door open and some footsteps go inside. The drawer opened near her and closed after about two seconds. Lee was about to leave, but Tenten's voice stopped her.

"Hey, don't go. Stay here and talk with me while I shower," she said, not really being a fan of being alone anywhere.

"Um... alright. But it feels a bit awkward," he replied. He lowered the seat on the toilet so the hatch was fully closed, and sat down on it. "However, I guess now is a good time for us to get rid of this fear, right? This probably won't be the first time that one of us is taking a shower with the other inside the bathroom as well."

"Exactly. Might as well get used to it now, right?" she asked. Lee nodded, accepting her point. As he tried to think about a conversation to start with, his mind kept wondering at what was behind those sheets. During the bathing times while training inside the cave, Lee would stay in the cave while Tenten bathed in the fresh river water. He never really saw any more cleavage than what wasn't covered by her kunoichi outfit. Being inside this restroom, alone with her, really nudged at his brain, placing odd images inside it that he'd rather not have yet. In a desperate attempt to get his mind off of the subject that would probably piss Tenten off, he tried a little harder to think of a topic. When he finally thought of one, he wondered why he'd never asked it before, being the interesting topic that it was.

"Tenten..."

"Hmm?" she asked.

"I've been wondering... what's your last name?" he asked politely. Tenten closed her eyes, knowing someone would eventually catch on to the fact that she never really mentioned her last name. She figured that there'd be no harm in telling Lee.

"I don't have one. My family has long since adopted the tradition of not giving their children any last names. I don't know when it started, or who thought of this rather stupid idea, but I sort of wish I have a last name. I remember the times in the academy when the other girls would make fun of me for not knowing my own last name. I kept telling them that I didn't have one, but it never really sunk into their minds. I guess that's why I always hung out with the boys. They never questioned my last name, but some of them didn't exactly like me being around because I'm a girl," she explained, applying some soap on her skin. "How about you, Lee? Lee can't be your last name, can it?"

"It's not. Like you, I was never given a surname by the village. I think Lee would be my first name, and Rock would be the title that they gave me because of my endurance and perseverance being as tough as a rock," he replied.

"You were never given a surname by the village, so how about your real parents. You talked about your father, while we were training inside the cave, and you also talked about your mother, who died giving birth to you. What name did your father give you when you were born? Surely he gave you a name, right?" asked Tenten, curiosity getting spiked within her.

"Oh, that. Well, since you put it that way, I really do have a full name."

"Really? What is it?"

"The name that my father and my late mother gave me is... Kira Hanazawa."

"Hanazawa... that's... that's a really nice name," said Tenten, as she applied the shampoo and conditioner on her long hair. Just then, an interesting comment popped inside her head that almost caused her to slip. "Lee, how do you think this sounds, Tenten Hanazawa?"

"Um... I guess it sounds kind of... wait a second... what?!" he exclaimed, face flushed redder than pepperoni. Did she just say that? Could she possibly be interested in that kind of commitment at such a young stage of her life? He knew, as well as she did, that they were happy together, but he didn't know that she was thinking of those kinds of thoughts. That thought never even crossed his mind for a second. Perhaps in the future, when everything was settled down and peace is in order, but not now. "Just kidding, don't worry about it. I'm happy with just the way things are right now."

"Yeah, me too."

"Anyway, I'm almost done in here but I have one thing that I'd like to ask you," she said. Lee's nodded, but his silence was enough for her to know that he was listening. "Are you looking forward to battling with anyone so far? The preliminary rounds may partner you up with someone very strong, are you scared?"

"First of all, I'm not scared. Second of all, I'd like a shot at that redheaded kid from the sand village. His power seems kind of scary, really. Sasuke is another one, if his curse mark is activated, he'll be a pretty good opponent. Naruto might prove to be a challenge as well. I don't know what he's got inside him, but I sensed something there too that is similar to the power that I sensed in Gaara. Lastly, there's that Dosu guy from sound village. He seems to be the strongest in his squad. Besides them, there's only one other person whom I wouldn't mind fighting," he said.

"Huh? Who's that?" she saked.

"You," he said. Tenten's body twitched. "Besides those four people, fighting you gives me the best thrill. You can heal from my attacks and can take the brunt of my techniques without having to worry about your own safety. And when we fight, you don't usually hold back, even with the knowledge that I'm much stronger. You always strive to get as strong as me and I like that about you. Other guys have that effect when they lose, but girls usually don't. When a guy beats a girl, the girl accepts it, but you don't. I guess I have to thank the fact that you hung out with a lot of other boys in your childhood, for that effect on you. For you, being a good kunoichi isn't enough and never will be. You want to be the best in your field. I guess I'd like to fight you too because I know that even though you don't share my bloodline limit, you always appear stronger, every time I meet you in battle."

"Well, if you put it that way, I wouldn't mind fighting you either. I like how you don't hold back against me, but maybe that's just because you know I can take it and I can heal from it. Is that right?" she asked, hoping it wasn't so.

"Not entirely. Even if you couldn't heal like I could, I'd still be giving it everything I've got. Well... almost everything. I mean, if you couldn't heal like I can and I launched my strongest techniques against you, you'd be dead for sure. I want you to get stronger, not to get you killed. So in a sense, you're half right, but you're also half wrong," he said.

"That's a good answer," she replied as she turned off the shower water. "Can you hand me the towel next to you?"

Lee looked to his side and saw a white towel for bathing. He took it in his hands and inserted it through the sides of the sheet. Tenten took it from his hands and dried her long hair with it. When she was finished, she wrapped it around her curvy body, making sure that it was tightly secured. When it was around her, she stepped out of the shower, hair still damp but no longer dripping with water. Before he could realize what was going on, Tenten clenched the chest area of his shirt and pulled him down to her level. She encased his lips with her own, tasting him once more, as she did last night. He still reeked of sweat, but she didn't mind at all. Lee wrapped his arms around her, placing his hands along the curvy traces of her body. They kissed passionately for a few seconds before pulling away. Tenten looked deep into his eyes, mesmerizing herself in them. Just as they were about to kiss again, someone opened the door.

"Lee, can I borrow your nail cut--" said Neji, cut himself off when he saw the sight before him. He rolled his eyes and turned around. "Okay... not something I wanted to see. Never mind, I'll use Shino's."

"Neji, do you guys have lotion? Ino is complaining that she forgot hers at--" said Shikamaru, cutting himself off when he saw exactly what Neji saw. "Geez, where'd you two learn to lock a door?"

"What the hell, Shikamaru? You said you'd meet Shino and I in--" said Kiba, being the third one to interrupt himself. Lee and Tenten were looking at them like they were about to murder them. Neji, Shikamaru, and Kiba, backed away a bit as Tenten approached them and kicked them all out. She closed the door in front of her and huffed out an irritated expression. Now everyone knew about them and their little secret would spread. Oh well, it's about time they knew about it anyway. When Tenten walked to her boyfriend, he was carrying a shirt, under garments, and a pair of pants, in his hands.

"Where did you get that?" she asked as he handed the clothes to her.

"I zipped, quickly got you some clothes, and returned in the same second. I'm sorry but I had to use you for that second so they would be distracted. I think they'd be a bit weirded out if they magically saw a set of clothes appear in my hands," he said.

"Alright, I forgive you. Anyway, you really should get inside that shower. I don't mind your smell, but I'm sure others would when you go outside," she said. Lee nodded and began to undress up to his boxers. Tenten bit her bottom lip to prevent herself from squealing or smiling from seeing his very attractive figure. When he stepped inside the shower, Tenten saw his boxers thrown in the air as the shower water was turned on. Without even moving aside, the pair of boxers fell on Tenten's head, as if that's where Lee was aiming for. Tenten took the boxers to her hands and was about to put it away, when some its scent entered her nostrils. Instead of passing out, she found that it smelled quite nice. Unaware of what she was doing, she was about to take it up to her nostrils further when Lee's head popped to face her, but his body was still covered. Tenten quickly tossed the under garment behind her, smiling at him.

"Hey, can you hand me my nail cutter on that shelf?" he asked, pointing above. Tenten nodded and turned around, reaching for the metal accessory. Lee was about to return to his shower but noticed his boxers on Tenten's hand. He was about to ask her why she was holding it but no longer cared after a few seconds. Tenten grabbed it and gave it to him. Lee smiled to her and returned to his bathing. Tenten sighed to herself as she looked at the boxer. She had no idea why she was acting like that, but it had to stop. She and Lee had barely been together for almost two days and she was already acting like they'd been together for so much longer. She tossed the dirty piece of clothing away and washed her hands on the sink, as well as her face.

"Jesus, Lee... if only you knew how attracted I am to you. I myself didn't even know until now," she said to herself.

"What was that?" asked Lee. Tenten was surprised and wondered if he had actually heard her. "Did you say something?"

"No... I mean uh... yeah um... I asked if you could uh... tell me what else you have planned for today," she said, stuttering in the first half of her sentence. She really didn't want to tell him that she was having fantasies about him, even though now would be a pretty good time to tell him that, as it would really matter if a girl has fantasies about the boy that she likes while they're together.

"Well, I don't really know. Besides training, I guess I could relax for a day or two, since we still have a little more than that until the preliminary rounds start. Mostly though, I'm worried about Naruto's squad and how they're still fairing outside. The two other rookie squads have already made it inside. They were the last of the rookie to be out there with so many other experienced squads. Lee really hoped that their squad would make it inside and not have to be disqualified.

"I wouldn't mind taking a day off. By the way, what are we going to tell the others? Our secret is pretty much out," she said, hoping for the best. She really didn't want anyone to know until another month or two, but then again, ninjas have eyes and ears where they shouldn't be.

"I just hope they don't bother us," he said. Tenten nodded as she started putting on the clothes that Lee had given her earlier. It was pretty much the same set that she was wearing, except it was clean. She placed her dirty clothes in a container and at the same time wondered which teams actually made it passed the second phase. She really hoped some strong squads made it. She didn't mind being paired up against Lee, but she also wanted to become a chunin too. She found it to be a little weird if a chunin was dating a genin. Perhaps others wouldn't but maybe it's just personal preference. Tenten shrugged to herself as she checked on the clothes that were being laundried. It looks like they were already in the dryer. Neji probably took the liberty in placing them there, before he came down to the training room, this afternoon. When everything was where they should be, she checked up on her boyfriend. He'd been quiet for a while and it was making her wonder.

"Lee, are you alright in there?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm done," he said as the shower water turned off. Tenten handed him a white towel as well. Lee dried his hair and wrapped the towel around his hips and below. When he exited the shower, his hair was literally all over the place, and still slightly damp. Although she didn't know why, Tenten found his hair to attractive. Actually, everything about him was attractive to her. Even though it was a good thing, it kind of scared the leaf kunoichi. It scared her because there were so many signs that led to him possibly being the one who was meant for her, and she found him at such a young age in her life. She wondered what her parents would say, having only met Lee once and that was back before his change. Her parents actually hoped that she would one day get together with Neji so she could earn their last name, Hyuuga. She grinned at him, his hair still dripping with water. Tenten took his hand and led him back to the room where he picked out his clothes from the closet. Tenten turned for a second to put her towel away. When she turned to face him, he was already fully dressed. She wondered how he got dressed so fast, but decided to not bother in asking him.

"Let's go outside and join Neji and the others. Maybe Naruto's squad will be there," said Lee. Tenten nodded as she placed some slippers on and handed Lee a pair, which were actually right beside the door. Both leaf ninja walked out of the room together and headed to the dining hall.

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Well, there goes a filler chapter. Sorry to those who don't like filler chapters, but I figured that I should write one about their stay in the tower. The next chapter will start the preliminary rounds. You guys might be surprised at which ninja I've pitted against whom. I tried to make it as even as possible, but we all know that because of the star and co-star of this story, nothing will really be even. Anyway, that's it for now. Hope to see you guys again on the next update!

Ja ne!


	11. Chapter 11

**Legend of the Iron Monkey**

**Naruto Fanfiction**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a single shred of Naruto.**

**Chapter 11: Phase Two and a Half, Preliminaries.  
**

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Lee strapped the laces on his boots together, nice and tight. As he readied his tools and accessories, he watched as Tenten and Neji did the same. Today is the day that they had been waiting for ever since arriving at the tower, in the center of the forest of death. All of the genin squads that passed the second portion of the exam was to meet in the main hall, where the Hokage would say a few congratulatory words to them, then the preliminary rounds would start. It was very fortunate that Naruto's squad arrived 10 hours before this event was scheduled to occur. Having arrived just a little bit earlier, they received the proper amount of food and rest. Now that all of the genin squads were ready, they would be called, one squad at a time. There was a good 15 minutes left until the Anko would begin calling in the squads. As Lee secured his pouches and sheath on his cloth wrapping, he examined himself on a mirror. He managed to fix his upper garment, but made a few major modifications to his outfit. Of course, it needed more supplies than he currently had. Fortunately, the medic shinobi squads had some spare materials that they were able to let him use. Lee used those as well as his and Tenten's spare materials to create something new for himself.

He modified his old shinobi outfit. The mask was now colored white, but didn't receive any other changes. It was actually from shoulders going down that had received the most changes. Instead of black, most of the outfit was white He removed the hard leather upper garment and replaced it with a soft leather top for better dexterity bonuses, and left the sleeves to be the same. Under his upper garments, however, were different. Instead of a regular undershirt, it was now replaced with an extremely thin layer of alloy that could be worn like a cloth type long sleeve. Because of the alloy being so thin, it wasn't a hindrance to movement and provided a decent amount of protection. It was designed to match the appearance of mesh type clothing, but the holes were much smaller. On the front and back areas of the torso, but still underneath the upper leather garments, was a one and a half inch thick sheet of metal that was worn as an apex vest. It was made of tougher stuff than the alloy sleeves and undershirt, but was still quite light in weight. The alloy under shirt was colored gray, while the metallic vest was colored white to match the upper leather garment.

On his shoulders were thin layers of silver colored alloy to match the garment. It was light, but provided a good amount of protection. As for his feet, he abandoned the use of boots, realizing that they made far too much noise wherever he walked. Lee sliced the shin area out of his boots and sewed it to the shin area of his pants to provide some protection for his legs. For the feet, he used the bottoms of his old boots and the laces. He tied the laces to the shin protector, so his flip-flops wouldn't come off. His socks were colored in white, just to match his entire outfit. Lastly, he now donned arm guards, like he designed for Tenten's outfit. The arm guards were made from his hard leather armor, colored black, and were placed at the exact place where Tenten's guards are, starting from the wrist, and ending just below the elbow region. When the outfit was finished, he handed it to Neji, who accepted it anxiously. He and Neji had similar body types and so, the shinobi outfit that he once owned, fit Neji almost perfectly. Lee crafted his new attire in three days.

The finished product was something that looked very sharp on Lee, especially with his new hairstyle. His hair was still spiky, but was no longer spiked up. It was now spiked down. His bangs covered his right eye, but wasn't enough to hinder his vision. His left eye had no hair to block his vision. Lastly, his hair had blond colored dyes on some of the strands. His new outfit forced him to wear a bodysuit that was made to feel like a second skin. His upper garment was a sleeveless vest that had to be zipped up to be held properly. His trowsers were perfectly fit on his legs and were a bit loose so he could grow into them. For his shin and feet, a pair of hard leather, army boots, were in place and secured tightly. His hands harbored black gloves that were made of the same material as his entire outfit. Over that, he wore a rather large coat that reached all the way down to just a couple of inches below his knee cap. There was a zipper on the coat that started from the thigh area, and went all the way up to the upper part of the chest. A thick string was on both sides of the zipper, used for tightening the hood that rested just below Lee's neck. His entire outfit was color black and made of soft leather. The sheath for his retractable staff and shuriken pouch was hung on his leather belt, behind him but under the coat. The coat was thin, so as to allow for maximum freedom in movement.

Neji claims to have figured out a technique that would rend Tenten and Lee's great speed to be useless, but didn't say anything else after that. The training that he placed himself into, these past few days, were tremendous. He trained until he dropped and when he awoke in the training room, he continued to practice his jutsus. He wasn't the only one training though. The other squads made use of the training facilities that were provided to them, even the shinobi squad of the sand. The only one who didn't do much training at all, was Gaara. All he did was send a death glare at Lee. At first, it sort of ticked the Iron Monkey, but shrugged the thought away after a little while. If they were to fight in the preliminaries, he didn't care what kind of power Gaara had inside him, because he had his own ace card. Besides Gaara, everyone had gotten stronger in the past few days and even developed new jutsus to be used against their opponents in the preliminary rounds. The only ones who weren't able to grasp at this opportunity were Naruto's and Kabuto's squad. Kabuto's squad actually arrived at the same time that Naruto's did. Some said they helped each other, but no one anything against that. This time though, it's all individual skill. Lee approached his teammates.

"Whatever happens today, we're still a team," he said, smiling at them all. Neji and Tenten nodded. A second later, a knock was heard on their door. They turned to face it as it opened and revealed Gai. Gai formed an "o" shape with his lips as he nodded approvingly at the new outfits of his students. He recognized Neji's outfit as Lee's old one, but with some modifications, as well as color changes. Tenten's looked the same, as she didn't want anything changed. Lee's looked really sharp and the black color with the soft leather material just added to the overall appearance of the coat and outfit. His students looked so prepared for the preliminaries and the other genin would be jealous when they see them in their new attires. Gai just hoped that his pupils were ready for the challenges ahead. They looked dashing, all of them, but looks won't win them the title of chunin. However, they were already well honed in the skills department, so there's not much to worry about.

"It's time to get going, you three," he said. Lee walked first, Tenten to his left, and Neji to his right. Gai smiled at their outfits again, learning only just hours ago that Lee was an expert in sewing. Perhaps he could ask his pupil to sew a few of his clothes that actually need it. But that would come later, after the preliminary rounds. As team Gai walked into the main hall, the other genin squads that were already there, had their eyes on them. Some of them were talking to themselves, commenting on the new attires of their colleagues.

"Nice coat, Lee. And I like your hair too," said Naruto. Lee nodded to him and smiled. When his squad was properly lined up beside the other squads, Gai joined the other jonin teachers in front of the genin, with the Hokage before them all. Sarutobi cleared his throat and looked to all of them.

"First and foremost, I would like to congratulate you all for passing the second phase of the chunin exam. You're all that much closer to achieving the next rank in the shinobi hierarchy, the rank of chunin. I'm sure you all have been informed by the chunin or jonin, assigned to each pair of the earth and heaven scrolls, that a preliminary round will be held today since there are far too many of you," he said. He was about to continue when a puff of smoke appeared before him and those of the eyes of the genin squads. When the smoke faded, they saw a rather sick looking man with bags under his eyes, probably through lack of a proper rest. The man who was kneeling when he arrived, stood to face the old man.

"Lord Hokage, please, if I may. I, Hayate Geko, would like to volunteer in explaining to the genin squads of what is going on," he said. The Hokage nodded as the sick looking jonin turned to face the young students. "As you all know, a preliminary match will be held right now because we didn't expect that there would be so many of you who are still around. Very important people will be coming from every corner of this continent, especially other village leaders and land lords. We don't wish to waste their time and so, we will only give them the best of the best. The preliminary rounds will be a match between two fighters. One of you will be declared the winner if you meet at least one of the following conditions. The conditions are the incapacitation of your opponent, having them surrender, or killing them."

Some of the genin shrieked at the idea of killing.

"As the test proctor for this exam, I am allowed certain rights to stop matches if I deem it to be pointless or if one of the fighters are no longer able to fight. This is to save as many lives as possible, but it isn't guaranteed," he said as he held out sheets of records in front of him. The records showed the paper work of every candidate who had passed the second part of the chunin exam and stood in front of him. "And, if for any reason at all anyone here is uncomfortable with starting immediately, or if you feel that you aren't in top physical shape, you may choose to drop out now. Frankly, the more drop outs we get, the less fights we have to go through."

"If those are the conditions of defeat, then I don't think I can handle it," said Kabuto. Lee looked to Orochimaru's henchman. As Hayate allowed him to walk away, he made a bit of small talk twith Sasuke and Naruto, before leaving. "I'm sorry Naruto, but my body is just too battered and beaten down. If I had a bit of rest like you and your squad, I could probably get through with this ordeal but I didn't get any rest. I know I should expect any, but I'm at my limit. You understand, right?"

"No Kabuto, I don't understand!" Naruto exclaimed. "This is your seventh time and you're backing out again? I know it may put pressure in your body but you can't give up just because they pulled a fast one. I had rest, sure, but even if I didn't, I'd still go through with it. You can't give up again, Kabuto..."

"I apologize... but I think I'm going to drop on the first match and that would be more embarrassing for me. I think pulling out right now would be the best idea. Don't worry though, we'll meet again. And maybe then you can tell me how your first match went. I'd so love to hear about it," he said as he nodded and turned away. Everyone turned to him and started having their own comments about Kabuto. Lee narrowed his eyes. You'd think that someone would want to pass, more than anything, on their seventh try. If he failed to do something the first time and got a second chance at it, he'd definitely do whatever it took to pass. So what if he would fight without rest? Before Lee received his powers, he trained until he dropped consciousness. When he woke up in the middle of the training field, he would train some more. Why can't Kabuto do that? Once he was completely out of sight, Hayate coughed a bit more and got the attention of the genin squads.

"If there are any others, please say so right now. You have one minute to think about it," he said, looking around at the genin. Although at front, Lee was able to hear a bit of everything that was going around in the crowd of genin. He also heard something interesting. Sasuke and Sakura were fighting and by the sound of it, it was about the cursed mark on Sasuke's shoulder. Lee wondered if that was going to be a problem in this exam. It was a problem, a few days ago when he arrived to stop him, so who's to say it won't come up again now? The taijutsu specialist didn't want the Uchiha to drop out like Kabuto did, but perhaps it would be best if he did. Anko was in extreme pain when the cursed mark was burning through her skin. Maybe Sasuke is feeling that, too right now. Well, if it became too much of a hassle, he would have to step in and contain him once more. But that would stop the match and end in Sasuke's defeat, something that Lee didn't want to be responsible for. After another minute of waiting, Hayate continued.

"Alright, if there is no one else, we'll start immediately," he said as he turned to Anko and nodded. Anko held the head phone on her ear and muttered something that was incoherent to everyone else. A second later, something started moving from the top left corner of the room. It looked like a giant television screen. "What you see over there is the machine that will decide your matches. The choices made are 100 percent random. That way no one complains about who they are pitted against. But you're all genin who have passed through the forest of death, you shouldn't be afraid of anything."

With that said, names appeared on the television screen above and started displaying other names to replace the first, at incredibly fast paces. Tenten wondered who she was going to have to fight against. The only one here, besides Lee, that she sort of feared was that redheaded guy with the large gourd on his back. He looked really creepy and creepy wasn't her style. But if she were placed against him, she hoped that she wouldn't put Lee's training to shame. Everyone else looked fairly normal, but who was she to talk normal? She is able to heal passively without requiring any amount of chakra or any hand signs. If anything, she and Lee were one of the farthest from normal in this motley crew. But since Kabuto's squad had just arrived a little while ago, she wasn't sure of their abilities either. Perhaps they aren't as normal as she was thinking of everyone else, but as for that, only time will tell. When the machine stopped, Lee narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the direction of the names of one of the combatants.

Yoroi vs. Sasuke.

"Will the two fighters step forward then?" asked Hayate. Sasuke and one of Kabuto's teammates, with odd black eyes, stepped forward, in front of everyone else. "Everyone besides these two, since it's not your turn to fight, please move up those stands to your side and await your turn. If you want, you may stand next to your jonin teachers, but you're free so wait where you like."

The other genin nodded and proceeded above. Neji looked to Sasuke from the corner of his eye. He was there when Sasuke's cursed mark was activated. All that malefic power that the Uchiha's aura was resonating kind of felt like poison in the mask of darkness. It felt so evil and so full of the intent to kill. If Lee wasn't there to stop him, Sasuke may have had his way with how things looked down there. Sure Neji could have stopped him, but at the time, Neji had no idea what Sasuke's power was capable of. The cursed mark's aura didn't look like any color of chakra that he'd ever seen. It felt so monstrous, like it would explode at any minute. He sighed in exasperation, a bit glad that he wouldn't have to fight someone like that, but a bit disappointed too. He sort of wanted to test his new skills against someone with tremendous power and comes from a powerful line of shinobi, before he used it on someone else like Lee or Tenten. When all of the genin and other shinobi were on the stands, Hayate looked to the two competitors.

"If you are both ready, begin," he said, leaping back a few feet so as to not get in their way. Lee watched as the fight started. This isn't even a fair fight, Sasuke is fighting with one hand, a pair of legs that probably couldn't even sustain his weight, and a burning feeling of pain that just wouldn't go away. What if that purple aura was released again? Come to think of it, there were black comas all over his body when his curse mark was activated. Was that a sign for the first level? According to Anko, there are two levels of the cursed mark and the phase with black comas is probably the first state. Lee was pretty confident in being able to take the Uchiha down, even during the first phase of his cursed mark, but what if the second? What if that phase becomes too much for even him to handle. As he continued to think about it, Tenten held his arm as she watched the fight. Lee noticed and placed a protective arm around her shoulders.

"This isn't fair, Lee. Sasuke had rest but it's like he's handicapped with that cursed mark. I bet he can't even tap into his chakra to use jutsus for fear of making the pain worse. I don't know if I can watch this. He's just going to get himself killed," she said.

"I won't let that happen. If it looks like he can't take it anymore, I'll jump in there myself and stop the match. Sasuke will end in defeat, because someone helped him, but at least he won't lose his life. It's hard for me to watch this too, but the mere fact that Sasuke decided to stick around even despite his handicap, probably means that he has a good reason for it. I don't want to get in the way of his reason unless it starts to threaten his life," he said, assuring Tenten as he rubbed her arm with his gloved hand. Tenten nodded as they both continued to watch the fight. As it dragged on, it didn't even look like Sasuke could continue. He was getting beaten down from every corner and he couldn't even defend himself. Neji heard Tenten earlier, while she was speaking to Lee, and agreed. This is a mismatch! Neji understood that Sasuke actually has backbone, unlike Kabuto, but this is suicide. His opponent seems to be pretty skilled and seems to have the ability to drain the life out of someone. Those are two combinations that prove deadly for Sasuke's condition. Neji clenched his fists, his feet tapping in agitation. He had to stop this match before Sasuke is murdered in cold blood. Just as he was about to act, Lee placed his arm in the boy's way.

"I understand how you feel Neji, I feel it too, but we're not allowed to jump in unless it really is a hopeless cause for him. I can see that Sasuke's opponent has an odd power of sucking the strength out of Sasuke, but as long as his eyes are opened, I can't take the risk that he can still fight. If we go in there now while he can still fight, he will be disqualified. Just choosing to stay despite his handicap is enough of a reason for me to believe that he can win. But if he can't, I'll race you to him," said Lee. Neji narrowed his eyes slightly at his comrade but backed off, knowing that Lee had a point. Neji leaned on the wall behind him and continued to watch. A few minutes later, it actually looked like Sasuke was pulling a miracle. With a few swift motions, he was able to get his opponent in the air. Sasuke leaped just under him. Lee watched in anticipation as Sasuke's executed his technique. The way he jumped right under his opponent looked very familiar to the Iron Monkey. Just then, he realized it as Sasuke brought his opponent down.

"Can it be? That looked like the..." he trailed off, unable to continue. Where did Sasuke learn to do that? It was definitely crude and needs a bit of work, but it resembled something of his own technique, the Primary Lotus. There wasn't much speed used but he knew his own technique when he saw it. But where did Sasuke learn that from? As Hayate declared him winner, Kakashi jumped inside the arena and took him away. When the first match was completely over, the television above activated again, choosing the name for the second match. When the machine stopped, the new opposition showed itself. Lee sighed to himself, actually wanting a chance to get this over with. Quite frankly, he had no time for this. Orochimaru is still out there and must be stopped. While many of the leaf village's finest are in here, Orochimaru is out there doing who knows what. What's worst is, Kabuto is out there now too. Lee didn't know what kind of game Kabuto is playing at, but he didn't like it. What if Kabuto gave up on purpose in order to execute another of Orochimaru's plans. For now, he could think about it, as this match didn't include him.

Shino vs Zaku.

Both fighters leaped down from the stands. Lee had complete confidence in Shino, being a part of the creepy but powerful Aburame clan. From what Gai-sensei told him, the Aburame clan's kekkei genkai was the use of the bugs that are inside them, literally. Upon birth, the parents allow bugs to enter their baby's system, as well as letting them feed off of the infant's chakra and multiply as he grows. In exchange for allowing them too feed off of his chakra, the bug user can call on them for his bug related jutsus. The bugs are Shino's offense and defense. How it will help against a sound shinobi, however, is hard to tell. Lee looked over to Shino's opponent, Zaku of the sound village. He had a cast from being defeated by Sasuke, a few days ago, but that should have healed by now. Why the cast is still there, is another question. As the two fought, it looked like Zaku was getting the best of his leaf village opponent, but he was just playing right into Shino's game. Using his quick wit and strengths in strategy and his bug jutsus, Shino was actually able to clog Zaku's weapon, the wind cannons that come from his palms, rendering them useless.

But being the apparent idiot that this guy was, Zaku tried to force his wind out of his palm, creating a massive problem. Since the bugs had forced themselves inside his cannon holes, they sealed every possble place where the winds could exit. There were only a couple of other holes where the wind could come from, and those weren't holes that they should be exiting from. When Zaku gave it another shot at his wind cannon, his wind came from the few remaining holes that there were, and tore himself apart from the inside. There was some blood that came out from his body, but not enough to fool stupid people, but Lee wasn't stupid. He knew this match was over the moment it started. Shino was the calm and collective type, while Zaku seems to be the loud and violent type that runs into combat without a hint of strategy. He was bound to lose this one eventually. When Zaku 's unconscious body was taken away by medical shinobi squads, Lee walked back to the stands, to his squad. The television above started choosing the two fighters for the next match. Lee hoped it was him. Once his match was over, he would be able to track down Kabuto and find out Orochimaru's plans. He knew that Kabuto was merely acting the game of the spy, and wouldn't fool anyone. When the third match was decided, Lee rolled his eyes at his misfortune.

Sakura vs Ino.

This match is a complete waste of everyone's time. These two girls don't even take their duties, as kunoichi of the leaf village, seriously. All they do is fawn over Sasuke, who seriously isn't even that great, and complain about it. But still, their rivalry between each other has proved to have its uses. It's made them stronger than anyone really expected of them, more than what Lee expected in them. To be honest, Lee actually developed a bit of childish feelings for the pink haired kunoichi, but that was way back in the day, before his two and a half month disappearance from the leaf village. Sakura was no longer worth his time, nor was Ino, he had his own priorities now. He looked to Tenten, who was watching as the two leaf kunoichi brawled. She was his life now, and he would do whatever it takes to protect her. But as time passes, Orochimaru gets more of an opportunity to get what he wants and achieve his goal of destroying the leaf village. With the village gone, those who Lee wished to protect would no longer have a home, and his idling would be the cause of it.

The two girls below didn't seem to have any special techniques or strategies, but the victor of his fight will probably prove something to the both of them. Perhaps neither one cared less about being chunin, but only to see who comes through in this match. They've been rivals for a while, and it all started with Sasuke, but maybe that's what indeed made them stronger. Lee thought that they were just weak little fan girls, but he was now proven wrong. Where they lacked strength, speed, and technique mastery, they made up for in guts and determination. They've been fighting for a little over 10 minutes now, and neither seemed to want to give up. It wasn't really as much of a boring match as he thought it would be. He didn't really enjoy two girls beating on each other, but even as they were tired and their bodies would give in at any given moment, their will and resolve was very strong. The body can be as mighty as a titan, but if the will is weak, the body is weak too. They may have weak bodies and low endurance, but that can improve with time. As long as their will stands strong, maybe there is hope for them as kunoichi. Eventually, they knocked each other out and the match ended in a draw. Kakashi and Asuma picked up their students and smiled at each other. When that was over, it was time for the fourth match. As the machine finished choosing the next two fighters, Lee couldn't take it anymore.

"Oh man... when do I get my turn?" he asked himself.

"Hey, I want my turn too," said Neji, not turning to face Lee. "Don't start thinking that you're the only one here who's bored out of his mind. So far, it's only the weaklings, minus two exceptions, who have gone. Sasuke Uchiha and Shino Aburame are one of the ones that I wanted to fight in these preliminary rounds but since they won, perhaps I can meet them in combat on the third exam."

"That is if you pass this portion," Lee mocked.

"Are you questioning my skill, Lee?" he asked, agitation rising.

"Nope, just your ego," Lee replied, smirking at his companion. Neji remained silent as he read the two names who were chosen. The Hyuuga's eyebrows twitched in annoyance. Those two weren't even worth his time, but he was forced to watch them.

Naruto vs Choji.

Tenten looked to her comrade, Neji. She then glanced to Lee, who seemed to be a little focused on the fight. Honestly speaking, Tenten was quite bored too. She didn't even care if she fought that Gaara guy of the sand village. She just wanted to do something. Waiting around like this, doing nothing, wasn't her style at all. The matches so far weren't even all that exciting. She knew that Sasuke would defeat Yoroi, it was just a matter of time. Zaku is no match for Shino, and the whole charade with Ino against Sakura was just nonsense. Maybe there are some people who placed their own choices for the machine to display. This can't be considered random because of how boring the matches are turning out to be. Then again, there are still six more matches after this one. Maybe the next one will prove to have something more entertaining for her to watch.

Lee sighed to himself as the match between Naruto and Choji ended. That wasn't even much of a match at all, what was that machine doing? Choji is no match for someone like Naruto, for sure. Even with everyone's expectation of Naruto being weak, he showed a bit of his colors here. Even Neji thought that this match would be a waste of his time, but Naruto showed him. It didn't mean that they were in the same rank though, that was adamant in the Hyuuga's mind, but even he had to admit that Naruto kind of surprised him with his match against someone like Choji. Perhaps everyone expected Choji to lose, but he put up a pretty good fight as well. His expansion jutsus are truly something to be useful for. He caught Naruto with his large hands a couple of times, nearly suffocating him in the process, but Naruto is known for being the most unpredictable shinobi in the leaf village. He always has something up his sleeve that will surprise anyone who isn't aware of his reputation. Naruto didn't beat Choji down too badly, so he was allowed to walk back to his squad. Naruto was as well, and was congratulated by Sakura and Asuma's squad, for his victory. When the machine activated once more, Lee hoped that the next match would be something worth his time. When the machine stopped, Lee's eyes widened. This would indeed be interesting, but why these two at these conditions?

Neji vs Hinata.

Neji glanced to his side, looking to Hinata. She wasn't really the one who he wanted to fight, as he already knew the results of this match, but perhaps it would prove a point to the main branch that the side branch of the family isn't that much apart in skill as compared to the main branch members. Hinata looked very nervous, so nervous that Tenten actually felt bad for the girl. This is another mismatch, just like the one with Sasuke and that other guy from Kabuto's squad. There's no way Hinata can win against Neji, it's just impossible. Their gap with skill and power was just too great. Gai narrowed his eyes at Neji, hoping that he wouldn't take this match personally. Just about everyone knew the rivalry between the main house and the side branch of the Hyuuga family. Now there is a match that include the eldest child of the main branch and the eldest child of the side branch. This match can definitely go the wrong way, if Neji doesn't control himself. He is usually the calm type, but not for anything that regarded his family. As Hinata made her way down to the center, Neji was about to do the same, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Neji, just so you know, if this match goes too far out of hand, I will stop you myself," said Lee. Neji's eyes narrowed, but didn't turn to to face his squad member. "You know what I mean, I know you do. If things get to that point and you try to take her life, you'll have me to deal with. You're in my squad, and I do care about you, but we never take personal reasons into any battle. Gai-sensei taught us that and I know that you're still aware of it all."

"Get off of me, Lee," said Neji, shaking Lee's hand off of his shoulder. "I will defeat her in this match and will give it my most honest shot at trying to not take her life. When the time comes where I see that she is unable to fight, I will warn her to back down. If she doesn't take that warning to heart, I will not be responsible for anything that happens to her."

"Yes you will," said Tenten. "I don't want to get in the way of anything that has to do with your family, but Hinata is my friend too. If I even see killing intent in your eyes, I don't care if Hinata can still fight, I'll jump in there and I will be your opponent. Your family issues are your own, but if you are going to take a life, you'd better be prepared for the consequences."

"Why should I? The test proctor himself implied that killing is allowed in these preliminary rounds," said Neji, trying to twist the subject.

"You know what he meant, Neji. If you let your family history get into this, I will stop you as well. I'm very confident that Lee and Tenten alone will be able to get in your way, but look around you. Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi, are all looking at you too. They know of the history within the two quarreling branches of the Hyuuga family. Just as Tenten said, if they see killing intent in your eyes, they will stop you before you take another step," said Gai, speaking in a very serious manner. Neji glared at them all. Why were they trying to take his victory from him? Perhaps Hinata wasn't the one he wanted to fight in these preliminary rounds, but this is the opportunity of a lifetime. If he could only take her life here, the main branch of the Hyuuga family will finally accept the strength of the side branch. Neji scoffed and jumped into the arena, to face Hinata.

"Let's get one thing straight, Hinata. You know that I will defeat you in this match. I will give you two warnings to back down and that's it. The first warning is right now. If you choose to drop out of this match, I won't think any less of you than I already do. You and I both know the outcome of this match, I'm just trying to save your life. The second warning will come after I beat you down and you aren't able to fight any longer. Please take this warning into consideration. You know of our family history and that I take it seriously. If you will not heed to this warning, I won't be responsible for what happens to you in the next five minutes," he said. Hinata was really afraid, but she didn't want to let everyone down by giving up in this match. She knew for sure that Neji was much stronger than her in every aspect. Strength, speed, skill, he had it all, and she had none of those if compared to him. Hinata looked over to the side lines and saw Naruto smiling at her. He always told her to believe in herself. It gave him his strength and she was confident that it would give her strength as well. His smile was enough for her to look back to Neji with her byakugan activated.

"I understand what you're saying, cousin, but I will not back down from this fight. Someone very special to me is watching my performance and I refuse to let him down. I will fight for everything that he believes in and he believes that I can win. His belief won't be wasted because..." she trailed off as she slipped into her jyuuken stance. "... I will fight you. And I will defeat you in this match."

"Don't make this mistake again, Hinata," said Neji, still not moving. "We have been pitted against each other many times before this and I was always victorious. Forget whatever this fool of yours is saying and get out of here before things really get messy."

"No Neji, I have something to prove to you and everyone else," she said as she looked to Hayate. Neji looked at him as well. Hayate nodded to them both and stepped back. Neji sighed and activated his byakugan as well. So far, things were going according to plan. He's made his warning and he knew Hinata would take the bait. The fool who happens to be close to her heart must be that blond idiot, Naruto. From the chunin exam, he inspired true confidence in the hearts of those genin who remained to answer the 10th question. But here, you'll need more than just backbone. This is an anything goes preliminary match and killing can be done. If not for those on her side, then he would have wiped Hinata out a long time ago. Even those who were in his squad; Lee, Tenten, and Gai-sensei, wouldn't allow him of his proper victory. As strong as he was, he knew that he was no match for all of their might. He needed allies too, but at the moment, he didn't have any. All he could do now was do battle with her and win.

Hinata moved closer to Neji and began her jyuuken assault. Neji didn't even require the byakugan to keep up with her attacks. They were so predictable and so slow, he probably could have blocked them easily with his eyes closed. But he wanted to grant Hinata her piece of satisfaction before he forced it all to crash down with her. If his own squad wouldn't allow him the victory he desired, then he could at least take everything out on Hinata. Neji blocked another attack by catching her fingers with his hand and attacked her arm, closing a tenketsu point there. Hinata's arm fell limp for a few seconds until she backed away and reopened the closed hole with her other hand. When her arm was healed and ready for battle again, she continued her flurry on her opponent. She had something to fight for and even if she was to lose today, she would prove it to everyone that she had come a long way too. No longer did she want to live the life of a loser. That's Naruto's dream and...

"That's my dream too, Neji. I will defeat you," she said. Neji narrowed his eyes as he evaded another attack. What is this girl mumbling about? It's not making any sense, but then again, since when did she tell him something that ever made sense? The blood is probably rushing to her head. Naruto watched in dire anticipation at what was going on below. Naruto didn't train Hinata as Lee trained Tenten, but he did give her something else. He gave her the power of self belief and it was doing wonders for her. He thought that she was just this weird girl who always fainted around him, but now he was proven wrong. There was definitely more to Hinata than he thought possible, and she was showing more of it in this battle. She was actually putting up a fight against Neji, one of the people in this competition who seemed to be very strong. When Neji blocked another attack and attacked her arm again, on the same spot, Hinata tried to pull away but Neji held her arm tightly. He unveiled her sleeve and showed her injuries to everyone.

"Damn it Neji..." Lee let out in frustration.

"What are those holes? I've never seen anything like them," said Naruto. Lee turned to him.

"The Hyuuga style of combat is jyuuken, or the gentle fist. Each of their attacks drain a bit of chakra to whoever they come in contact with. They've both been taking and receiving blows which drain the chakra right out of their system. Although Neji has been blocking Hinata's attacks, his chakra supply has been draining bit by bit, and because he uses chakra in his attacks, he loses that much more. But in Hinata's case, not only does she insert the same amount of chakra in her attacks, but she's taking the brunt of the damage and is losing more chakra," Lee explained.

"So you're saying that the more they take and receive damage, the more chakra they lose?" asked Naruto. Lee nodded. "But chakra isn't everything. I can totally fight without chakra, I just won't be able to use any jutsus."

"Chakra isn't the only problem, Naruto," said Tenten. "The chakra placed in each attack is like a small needle in their hands. It pricks an invisible hole on the body of the target and not only does the chakra leak out of the body of that target, but it harms their internal system. Take Lee and Gai-sensei for example. Their style of combat is also taijutsu but they focus on dealing external damage. The Hyuuga style of combat is taijutsu but focuses more on dealing internal damage. You can heal damage from outside the body using simple medical jutsus, but it's difficult to apply healing jutsus on damage that has been done from within the body. Basically, Lee and Gai-sensei focus on making the opponent bleed, where as a Hyuuga will focus on draining the opponent's chakra.

"She's right," said Kakashi. "If you were damaged from the inside after coming out from a battle with a Hyuuga, and I were to attempt to heal you using medical ninjutsu, I'd have a tough time in doing so. My jutsu, which requires my chakra, will be battling with the chakra inside your body, making it harder for my healing to reach your actual injury. And since your chakra is battling with me, you would lose stamina because chakra is like your energy. Chakra isn't just for performing jutsus, it's like your life energy."

"But I've run out of chakra so many times during my training, yet I'm still alive and kicking. What's so bad about running out of chakra, when it'll just come back with the right amount of food and rest, right? That's how it's been for me at least," he said. Kakashi looked to Gai, thinking of the exact same thing.

"Well Naruto... you see, it's different in your case. I'm not... um... entirely sure why but that's how it goes. Maybe you actually had chakra within you that you thought was gone but wasn't. It's true that chakra is self-sustaining, but even it has its limits. Chakra doesn't come back after three or four seconds after a jutsu is used to consume it. It takes a lot of time and in your case, it probably doesn't because you've been training hard all your life. You've probably developed a much large chakra capacity than most people here," said Kakashi. Lee narrowed his eyes at that explanation and began to wonder why it was that Naruto had such a large chakra capacity. He seemed normal enough and wasn't really that great with his shinobi arts, so what else could there be besides guts and determination? As Lee continued to ponder about Naruto, his eyes returned to the match that was being held at the moment. There's no way Hinata could possibly defeat Neji, but why doesn't he just knock her out now and be done with it? Surely he was prolonging it to watch her suffer.

As the match dragged on, Lee was getting more and more frustrated at his companion, who was allowing the match to continue when the victor had pretty much been decided. When Hinata was knocked down earlier, the two cousins seemed to have hit some kind of heated conversation that no one really understood. Naruto continued to cheer for Hinata but not much of it was being placed into any use. Actually, now that he thought about it, Naruto's voice seemed to be the only one that was really giving Hinata her courage. When she was knocked down earlier, Lee felt her fighting spirit diminish a bit but when Naruto cheered her on, her morale returned, burning brighter than ever. Perhaps there was some truth in what she said before, all those months ago when she said that Naruto's belief in her gave her the strength to persue her dreams. It seemed to be true now. There's no shot for her victory, but she wasn't willing to stay down, and it's all because of Naruto. His voice really does inspire fierce courage into others, that's his ability. A few minutes later, Hinata was struck down after being struck on the chest, and this time, it didn't look like she could get up.

"Proctor, I've had enough of this. It's apparent that she can no longer fight so why not just stop the match? You said that you will try to stop a match when it seems hopeless, so stop this now, she can't defeat me. She can hardly stand," said Neji. Hayate looked to Hinata.

"Neji, you may be able to constantly knock me down, but I'm not the one who has lost in this match. You have," she said, struggling to stand. When she did, she was breathing harder than ever before. "My body may be battered, but there's something that not even you can touch. My resolve to win will always be greater than my pain. You fight to prove that the side branch is superior but you're wrong in that too. I understand the quarel within our clan, that the side branch may seem inferior to that of the main branch, and I also understand that my defeat in this round will give you the satisfaction you need to go against the main branch."

"I'm not fighting to preserve my honor as the eldest daughter of the main branch, but to finally stop the war that has raged and destroyed the peace between the two branches. But that isn't the only thing that I fight for. I stand against you now to prove to you that destiny can be changed, that I can be strong too. You always belittled me when we were younger and I refuse to take that anymore. I don't know how much I've improved, Neji, but I do know that even if I don't come out as the winner of this battle, it is you who have lost. You fight for a vain purpose and for that I do feel sorry for you," she said. That did it, that was enough to tick him off. Neji's byakugan wasn't activated before, but it was now. The rage of the side branch erupted from within the boy and ran towards his opponent. He didn't care about anything anymore, he just wanted to kill Hinata with his bare hands. Hayate's eyes widened and ran for Hinata. She couldn't fight anymore, that's for sure, but this boy... this boy knows that and is still willing to execute her? Hinata looked into the eyes of her cousin, realizing that she had failed to save him. Before he could move a single step, he was stopped.

Tenten was holding Hinata in her arms, away from striking range, Lee had his comrade in a grappling lock, and Hayate was in front of the raging Hyuuga, his hands on Neji's shoulders to stop him. Gai held one of Neji's hands away, Asuma held the other. Kurenai crouched down and had a kunai against Neji's stomach, and Kakashi had two of his dog summons on Neji's feet, preventing him from moving. The others gasped, not because Lee and Tenten matched the speed of jonin rank ninja, but because of Neji's irrational behavior. They never really thought that Neji would strike down someone who was incapable of fighting anymore. Tenten lowered Hinata's body to the ground and gasped when she choked on her blood. Kurenai heard the choke and rushed to her student immediately. She formed three hand signs as her hands began glowing a green color. She unzipped Hinata's jacket and hovered her glowing hand over her student's chest. Kurenai was shocked and glared daggers at Neji, who couldn't even care less what happened to Hinata. Hayate, Kakashi, Asuma, Gai, and Lee, released their hold on Neji. The jonin gathered around to Hinata as Lee faced his squad member.

"I can't believe you'd stoop so low as to even think of killing your own blood. You saw that she couldn't fight anymore and you let her words get to you? What the hell is your problem, Neji? What did Gai-sensei tell you about letting your own personal feelings cloud your judgment in battles like these?" he asked. Neji's anger spiked higher but eventually mellowed down when he saw the condition that his cousin was in. He turned his back from Lee.

"I don't have to answer to you," he said.

"On the contrary, you do. Let's get this thing straightened out right now," he said. Neji didn't budge. "Listen to me, Neji! You were about to kill her, did you even have control over your own body? I'm trying to tell myself that you allowed anger to get to you. Please tell me I'm right and don't tell me that you intended in killing her. I may not know enough of what happened to your clan and how this is for you, but taking the life of another is not something that Gai-sensei taught us. You'd be putting his teachings to shame and I can't allow you to walk that path. Hinata is of your own flesh and blood. Why would you even think of killling her?"

"This has nothing to do with you, so leave it alone," said Neji as he started to walk away. Lee saw Naruto hop from the stands and make his way to them. He looked over to Hinata. How could Neji be capable of this? This isn't something that Gai-sensei would teach anyone, especially his own students. Hinata was actually in even worse condition than he originally thought. She had only stopped choking on her blood a while ago and that's a bad thing. Naruto examined Hinata's condition and was shocked to the core. Two medical shinobi squads arrived with a stretcher and took Hinata away. Neji smirked to the blond, who was probably all torn up to see his little girlfriend. He'd better be, that's the impression that he meant to leave on the blond. He knew that Hinata's source of confidence derived from Naruto, so it's only fitting that the blond would be the one to feel most of the pain. If only Hinata were here to see his expression, Neji thought, it would just crush her.

"Hey you, moron," called Neji. Naruto turned to face him. "If you're still prancing around your little shinobi way, I suggest you stop yourself while you're ahead. You also mentioned something about becoming the Hokage of this village one day. Do you really think you can accomplish that just by training hard and trying to get there? Well I have some advice for you. Why don't you take that shinobi way of yours and stuff it down your throat. You're as weak as Hinata is and remember it... or what was that phrase you always say? Oh... that's right, believe it."

Ticked by the insult, Naruto ran to Neji, ready to pummel him to the ground. Neji's hands tightened, readying himself for combat, but it was cut short. Lee zipped right in front of Naruto, blocking his path. Lee turned his head slightly at the blond. He knew of the anguish that the younger boy was feeling right now, but this wasn't the time and place to be taking care of nonsense such as this. To be honest, he wanted a piece of Neji too, but there are rules to this examination, and rules that had to be followed if he was to stay longer and have a better chance at finding out Orochimaru's plans. He wanted to allow Naruto to proceed to Neji, to show him what a hard worker is capable of. But not now, or at least, not yet. A time will come for the hopeless to defeat the hopeful, but now wasn't it.

"Lee, get out of my way! I'm gonna beat that guy down until he cries!" he shouted. Lee shook his head, glaring at Neji's direction. Neji returned the glare with equal ferocity.

"You'll get your chance, I promise you. One day, the gifted prodigy will fall to the might of the hopeless cause. That would be a sight to see and one that I would truly drop everything for in order to attend, but now isn't that time," he said. As adamant as Naruto was in forcing his foot down Neji's enormous ego, he knew that there was some truth into Lee's words. Instead of taking action now, he decided to make a promise instead. He looked down at the blood that Hinata spat on the floor, earlier. He knelt down and smudged his hand on it. He raised it to Neji. Lee smirked a bit as he watched what Naruto was doing. This guy is truly one of a kind, and he knew that Naruto could one day achieve his dreams. He has guts alright, if nothing else, and that's going to take him farther than anyone ever expected of him. And he'll make them proud.

"I swear, on the blood of this fallen Hyuuga, I will make you eat your words in the final rounds of this chunin exam. That, I promise you and I never break my promises," he said. Lee nodded to him as the machine above appeared with the names again. It cycled through the remaining ninjas who haven't fought yet, for a few seconds, until it landed with two more names. Tenten was about to follow the medic squad to the treatment room, when Lee held her back by the shoulder. She turned to face him, wondering why he did that. Lee motioned his head to the right. Tenten looked his way, to the machine above, and was surprised, but smiled as well. It was finally her turn to fight. She looked to her opponent, who jumped down. It was him, one of the sand shinobi, the one with the large mummy-wrapped object on his back, the black-clad shinobi with face paint.

Tenten vs Kankuro.

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Chapter 11 is done and there's more to come! Geez, I think this story will turn out a lot better than the first Naruto story that I wrote, Bond of Steel. I have so many ideas for this story, and it won't stop flowing... just the way I like it. If you've noticed, I'm speeding through the fights that I don't have much interest in, you guys understand right? I want to get to the finals as fast as possible, but I still have to write a filler chapter for the one month that passes for the training part before the finals. It's one month, right? I haven't watched the anime or checked the manga in a while so the memory is a little fuzzy. I'll try to do the best that I can though, with the limited memory I have of this arc of the anime. But this is a good thing for me though. I think I've been following the anime for a little too long and I don't really want to do that. Others have done that but I kind of want to stop at it. That's all for this chapter. See you guys at chapter 12!!!

Ja ne!

**EDIT**: Sorry about this guys, but I have some very bad news. I have just started my second semester of my first year of college and it's getting harder and harder to find any time to write. Luckily though, I've written about 28 chapters and I'll post them all in a 5-7 day basis. For personal reasons, I don't post them once I finish writing them, so you'll just have to understand that. I'm not sure when I can get started on chapter 29, since my courses are fairly time consuming. They're not hard, but they're just a little overwhelming. Okay well, I really need to get going.


	12. Chapter 12

**Legend of the Iron Monkey**

**Naruto Fanfiction**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a single shred of Naruto.**

**Chapter 12: Preliminary Rounds, Part 2  
**

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As the medical shinobi squad took away Hinata on the stretcher, the jonin teachers, Lee, Naruto, and Neji, returned to their original positions in the stands. Tenten and Kankuro walked to the center, with Hayate between them. Lee watched Tenten carefully. So far, he had no idea what Kankuro was capable of, but he figured that the thing on his back might have something to do with what kind of jutsus he had. He wondered if Tenten at least knew what she was doing, but he wasn't too worried. Kankuro's chakra looked normal, at least normal enough compared to Sasuke's cursed mark and Gaara's unusual chakra. Lee hoped that he would be able to challenge Gaara in one of the matches that came after this one. He couldn't allow anyone to get hurt if Gaara showed his true colors. Lee didn't know what those true colors were, which was what was bothering him. But for now, that can't be what his mind was on. This was Tenten's turn to fight, so Lee kept his attention on her. Hayate looked to both fighters again. Tenten pulled out two kunais from her pouch as Kankuro placed his large item down before him.

"Alright then, if both of you are ready... begin!" he said, backing up a bit. Kankuro unraveled the wrappings from his large item. It had odd looking eyes, an odd looking mouth, and six arms. The only normal quality that it had was its black coat that covered its entire body, but wasn't that long. Tenten narrowed her eyes at it.

"A brown, wooden puppet?" she asked.

"That's right, little girl. There's no way you can defeat me, so why not back down now? Maybe we can go on a date later?" he asked, attaching his chakra strings from his fingers to the key parts of his puppet. He started wiggling his fingers, making sure that his puppet was working properly. Tenten grimaced and readied herself to attack.

"Sorry, but I'm taken," she said. She wanted to run to him and surprise him with her speed, but she wanted to know what that puppet was for before she attacked him head on. Tenten tossed her kunais to one hand and reached for her pouch. She threw three shuriken at Kankuro, who dodged them easily and shot his arms over his chest, wiggling his fingers again. At that action, his puppet moved to his opponent at speeds that Tenten didn't think was possible for a wooden puppet. It was fast, but not fast enough. Tenten moved to the side and saw an opening. She ran to Kankuro and saw the puppet moving to intercept her. Just before it was about to capture her, Tenten zipped and appeared behind her target. Kankuro's eyes widened as Tenten's foot met his face. The sand genin was sent flying a good eight feet from where he stood. Temari narrowed her eyes. For such a petite girl, her foot seemed to have a lot of power in it. Kankuro stood, wiped the dirt from his face, and looked to Tenten.

"You're fast, but I have ways of capturing fast targets like yourself," he said as he wiggled his puppet back to life. "Get her, Crow!"

"Crow?" asked Tenten, dodging the puppet's rather slow attacks.

"It's the name of my puppet. If you haven't noticed yet, I'm a puppet master, and a damn good one. Don't worry though, I don't plan to kill you but when crow is through with you, you'll be in so much pain that you'll practically be begging for death," he said as he continued Crow's assaults on the leaf kunoichi. Tenten attempted to cut the chakra strings, which allowed Kankuro to properly control Crow, with her kunais but they just seemed to pass through the chakra strings. "Oh yeah, I guess I did forget to mention the fact that those chakra strings can only be cut by chakra."

"That would've helped earlier, but thanks for the info," said Tenten, moving back to avoid an attack from Crow.

"Alright, enough games. Time to capture you," he said as he flexed his left ring finger, causing Crow to open its mouth. From the crevice of its mouth, Crow spat out several kunai and shuriken that took Tenten by surprise, but not too much. Tenten blocked every projectile that was sent her way. There seemed to be no end to the constant barrage of projectiles, but Tenten had no problems blocking them. Kankuro smirked slightly and moved his right ring finger. Crow ceased its projectile attack and stretched its arms, attempting to grab the kunoichi. Already being a good distance from it, Tenten moved back, knowing that the arms of that puppet had to have some kind of limit. But what she didn't know was a second puppet waiting for her just a few more feet back. When she looked back to check how far she'd gone, it was too late. She tripped on something and fell inside it. Before she was able to react, the torso of the puppet closed, trapping her inside. Kankuro smiled as he moved his right ring finger, causing the second puppet to attach itself to Crow's body. Crow's torso then closed, trapping Tenten and the second puppet inside its body.

"Hey, let me out of here!" she shouted, trying to break herself free.

"No can do, little girl. In order to win, I have to defeat you. Unlike my teammate back there with the red hair, I'm pretty merciful. Instead of taking your life, I'm just going to knock you out. It might sting a bit but at least you get to keep your life," he said as he started wiggling the fingers on his left hand. Chakra enveloped Crow's arms as all six of them flew out of its body and unveiled hidden daggers on the shoulder areas of the arms. With a flex from his right thumb and index finger, the puppet that captured Tenten, constricted, crushing her from the inside. Tenten shouted through the puppet in pain, which only aggravated Lee. With a few wiggles from his left index finger and pinky, the bladed arms returned to Crow's body with heightened speed. There was a gasp from the stands, which belonged to the mouths of the other genin and some of the jonin teachers. Gai's eyes widened. Kankuro said that he wouldn't kill her, but six blades penetrating a human body would definitely be enough to kill her. A faint shout was heard from within the puppet's body, but ended as quickly as it came. Blood oozed out from inside Crow's body.

"Hmm... maybe I miscalculated a little bit but at least I've won the match, right?" asked Kankuro.

"Let her out first, and I'll be the judge of that," said Hayate. Kankuro nodded and reeled ever finger on his left hand, close to his palm. When Crow's body opened, Kankuro did the same with his right hand, opening the torso of his second puppet. Tenten's body was released and fell on the ground, eyes closed. Hayate moved to her neck to feel her pulse. Just as he was about to do so, he retracted his hand. The body should still be bleeding but despite the injuries that Tenten sustained, no blood was coming out from her body. "I don't know how it's possible but the match still continues. This girl isn't even unconscious."

"What?! That's impossible!" Kankuro shouted. As Hayate moved back to his original spot, Tenten's wounds started to close. When most of them were closed her eyes opened as she stood from the floor. Tenten stretched around, making a few cracks on her back, while waiting for the rest of her wounds to heal. When all of her skin punctures were closed, her bones started placing themselves back together. Tenten looked to all the other jonin teachers and her fellow colleagues. Lee was smiling at her, while Neji didn't look at all surprised. Kakashi raised his forehead protector, unveiling the sharingan on his left eye. Every injury that Tenten received from that last attack had closed, as if she was never attacked at all. What kind of training did Gai put his students through? Such a healing ability is astounding. Gai was as surprised as Kakashi, as well as Asuma, Kurenai, Sarutobi, Anko, Ibiki, and the rest of the jonin who were present at the time. When did Tenten get such an ability? The sharingan jonin looked to his rival.

"Gai, what kind of training did you give your students? I examined her body with my sharingan. That healing ability of hers required no chakra. It was as if the wounds were just closing on their own, against her own free will. That was no jutsu but it was incredible. Does Tenten have a hidden kekkei genkai?" Kakashi asked, shocked at the rather impressive ability of Gai's student. "And on top of that, where did her sudden burst of taijutsu skills come from? I saw her records myself, before this exam, and she had little to no talent in taijutsu. I know you're her teacher, but you spend more time with Lee. How did she get so strong?"

"I... don't know..." answered Gai, still baffled at Tenten's miraculous recovery. Gai glanced to his rival. "I'm as surprised as you are, Kakashi. I've never seen Tenten heal so fast from any wound before, it's incredible! And her taijutsu has improved far beyond what I could ever expect for her. Whoever taught her those techniques must be a well accomplished taijutsu master."

"That healing speed was amazing," said the Hokage, as he turned to Ibiki and Anko. "I don't remember us having those on our records. Could we have missed something about her family? Perhaps hidden jutsus or any kekkei genkai?"

"No sir," said Anko, flipping through her record book and scanned through Tenten's page. "This information was given to us by her parents themselves. They're just a family of blacksmiths and expert shinobi in the field of weaponry. We tested their blood samples and found nothing out of the ordinary. We got Tenten's blood sample too, a while back when she signed up to become a kunoichi. There were no traces of any kekkei genkai or any that haven't been awakened yet. She was a regular kunoichi. My wager is, something happened during her training with Gai. If there's anyone who can answer this, it's him."

"No, Gai has nothing to do with it," said Kakashi, appearing next to them in a puff of smoke. "I asked him about it and I'm pretty good at detecting lies, courtesy of Ibiki. I didn't pick up anything from him that would tell me otherwise. Gai isn't lying about this, he has no idea what happened to spark up this new power. And regarding your comment on it, lord Hokage, it was no jutsu and therefore required no chakra. I saw it all with my sharingan. I think her body just healed on its own."

"Very interesting, Kakashi," said the Hokage. "After the preliminary rounds, I want you and Gai to pay Tenten's family a visit and tell them about this. Chances are Tenten has been keeping this a secret from them and they have the right to know. Plus, this is something big. Keep an eye on her too, but don't go any further than that. And make sure her parents aren't to talk about it to anyone, especially their daughter. I just want them to be aware of it."

"I understand," said Kakashi, as he walked back to his squad.

Lee smiled to Tenten and nodded. Tenten nodded as well and turned to Kankuro, who looked ready to pee in his pants. Great, now everyone knew of her secret. She sighed to herself and finished her stretching. The blades that were attached to Crow, actually hurt when her body was pierced by it while being crushed from the inside by the puppet that caught her. She didn't even have the breath to shout in pain, but was glad that it was over. Now that she knew that abilities of Kankuro's puppet, it was her turn to attack. When she was sure that all of her wounds were healed and her bones were placed in the proper areas, she took out her weapon scrolls, the Twin Dragon scrolls. She unrolled her scrolls and flashed through several hand signs. The scrolls on the floor arose in the air in a spiral formation. Tenten leaped into the air and looked down to her opponent.

"Hey, sorry about blacking out on you earlier. Your puppets caught me off guard, but now that I know what they do, there's no more need to prolong this battle. I haven't really used this technique to the fullest extent but I figured that a skilled shinobi like yourself would be able to defend himself from this attack," she said as she pulled out weapons from her dragon scrolls. One by one, she threw them at Kankuro, who was having a tough time evading them all. He allowed his puppets to block as much as possible but there was just too many for even them to handle. After everything was thrown at him, Kankuro's puppets were fully impaled with kunai, shuriken, short swords, sickles, throwing axes, and a variety of other projectile type weapons. The puppet master had his share of injuries as well, stars and knives on his legs which prevented him from moving, but Tenten wasn't finished. attached to each of the projectiles that she threw, were chakra strings, similar to Kankuro's. She pulled her arms back as the weapons arose into the air. Tenten shot her arms forward as the weapons threatened to kill the sand genin. Kankuro closed his eyes, preparing himself from death... but it didn't happen. When he opened his eyes, he was being held from his shirt by Lee. Lee dropped him on the ground and watched as Tenten finally dropped to the ground.

"Alright Tenten, I think you've pretty much finished him off. I'm not sure if you heard it through your projectile throwing but the proctor already announced you as the winner of this match. Besides, this guy can't heal like you can, so give it a rest ok?" he asked. Tenten sighed and nodded. With a snap of her fingers, the projectiles on the floor, disappeared and her scrolls were rolled back to their original state. Tenten picked them up, hung them on her waist, and walked to Lee.

"Sorry Lee, I guess I really didn't hear the proctor after all. Good thing you came by though, or I might have accidentally killed him without knowing it," he said. Tenten glanced at the puppet master, who was trying to get up but couldn't because of the wounds on his legs. "I'm sorry. I was about to kill you, wasn't I?"

"Um.. yeah.. but I'm glad you didn't. And I'm sorry about earlier, I did know that my previous attack would have killed you, but I still lied about it," he replied as another medic squad arrived and carried him on a stretcher. When he was fully secured, they took him away. Tenten sighed as she and Lee retreated back to the stands. When they arrived, team Kurenai and team Kakashi were all looking at her. Tenten rolled her eyes, figuring that they stared at her because they were so amazed about her healing ability. Perhaps it wasn't such a great idea to keep it a secret, but she honestly didn't want anyone figuring it out so soon. The only secret left to be revealed now, is Lee's secret as the Iron Monkey. She hoped that her boyfriend would be careful to hide his secret. Everyone else was pressuing her so much as it was. She didn't want Lee to feel pressured too. Gai looked to her student, still amazed at how she gained the ability to passively heal at such an astounding rate.

"Tenten, where did you acquire that healing skill?" he asked. "Your records don't show anything regarding your background with healing jutsus or any kekkei genkai that involved rapid cellular regeneration. I thought Kankuro killed you for sure."

Tenten merely smiled. "I'm sorry Gai-sensei, but where I got this healing skill has to remain a secret for now. I'll tell you about it one day though. As to any kekkei genkai or healing jutsus, I'm sorry to say but I possess no knowledge of either of those fields. My parents don't possess this healing ability, you can test it out for yourself. As far as I know, I'm the only one in my family who can heal like this."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Kakashi. "The Hokage has given Gai and myself a mission to pay a little visit to your parents and ask them about this. Don't worry though, we have strict orders not to relay this information to anyone who doesn't yet know it and we'll make sure that no one else, not even your parents, will talk about it. So just tell us right now."

"I'll tell you everything you need to know, later," said Lee, interrupting their conversation. The two jonin, as well as Tenten and Neji, looked to Lee. "I'm the one who was responsible for her new power. As to how she acquired it, I'll tell you three, and yes Neji, that includes you. I'll tell you everything but you can't place it in her records. This information must not be revealed to the public."

"So you know about this then, eh Lee?" asked Gai.

"Yes. But let's keep it down for now. The next match has already been decided," he said as the monitor above successfully chose two new opponents. Lee sighed in frustration, hoping that he would be next. Neji was the first to fight in their squad and Tenten, right after. The young man thought he would be next but the monitor had other plans. He wanted to crush it so badly, but he figured it would not only be against the rules, but he may be disqualified from the whole exam. For now, he merely sighed, letted out all of his negative energy that he harbored to the machine. The two fighters stepped down from the stands and saw each other face to face.

Shikamaru vs Kin.

"I'm going to check on Sasuke for a while. I need to keep myself updated on his current status. Gai, will you please tell Naruto and Sakura that I'll be back in a few minutes?" asked Kakashi as he vanished in a puff of smoke.

"I'm going to go too. Tenten, please call for me when my match starts. I have something that needs to be taken cared of," he said as he zipped after Kakashi. When he reappeared, Kakashi was right in front of him, walking to one of the treatment rooms. He had been there earlier but had to check up on Sasuke again. The silver haired jonin sensed Lee's presence.

"Return to the others, Lee. This has nothing to do with you," he said.

"I can't do that, Kakashi-sensei. I have to check up on him as well. It's for personal reasons," he said. Kakashi shrugged and entered Sasuke's room. The Uchiha was awake, eating a bit of hospital food that some of the medics gave to him to help regain his strength.

"Are you ready for the sealing, Sasuke?" he asked. Sasuke nodded.

"It's about time, Kakashi-sensei. How did Naruto's fight go? He won, right?" he asked. Kakashi nodded and was about to reply when the raven-haired boy noticed a guest behind his teacher. "Lee, you're here too, huh? Tell me, have you fought yet?"

"I haven't. I seem to have terrible luck with that lousy machine. I might end up fighting last. You're looking well though. Are you feeling alright? You seemed to be falling apart during your match. Is that cursed seal still bothering you?" he asked. Kakashi's eyes widened at Lee's knowledge about the cursed mark. "Don't worry Kakashi-sensei, I know about it. I was actually the one who subdued him when his mark first activated, a few days ago while we were still in the forest of death."

"You took him down with his cursed mark activated?" asked Kakashi, unable to believe it. Sasuke nodded. "I see. Now I definitely have to ask Gai about his training methods. The cursed mark eats away at the holder's chakra, but grants him tremendous power. How you managed to take him down, I don't know. Anyway Sasuke, we should get going. You can come too, Lee, if you like. You're already here anyway."

"I had every intention in coming, Kakashi-sensei, whether you invited me or not. This is something that I have to see for myself," he said. Kakashi nodded as Sasuke hopped off of his bed. The three walked out from the treatment room and went downstairs, to the basement. It was pretty dark in there, but there were a few torches around. Kakashi ran through some hand signs and spat a few fire balls from his mouth. The fire balls were small but enough to light a few torches. There was a pretty large space in the middle of the room, which was where all the torches on the pillars were lit. Kakashi reached down one of the pockets on his jacket and pulled out three vials with red liquid in them. He uncorked it, dipped his fingers inside, and started drawing a circular diagram on the ground. At first, Lee had no idea what was going on, but soon realized what Kakashi was doing. It was from one of the books, back in the academy, while he studied there. One of the books that he read depicted sealing jutsus and how it required the caster to draw a circular diagram on the ground, using his own blood. Each diagram has different designs for every type of sealing jutsu. The Iron Monkey leaned against the wall and watched as the events before him unfolded.

"There we go," said Kakashi, corking his vials and returning them on his jacket pockets. It took a while, and a bit more blood than expected, but he had finished the circular diagram. Lee couldn't make out the signs on the circle, but couldn't care less. Kakashi formed another set of hand seals and blew a light, yet cold breeze of air, at the diagram, probably to dry up the blood. When that was over, Sasuke stepped in the middle of the circle and took off his shirt, moving smoothly as if everything was rehearsed. Kakashi moved behind Sasuke and drew more signs on his back with the remaining blood that was still on his fingers. The jonin inhaled a large breath of air and formed another set of hand signs. He placed his bloody hand on Sasuke's back and formed a single hand sign with his other hand, holding it just across his chin. Sasuke let out a massive shout of pain as the jutsu moved the blood signs from Sasuke's back and placed themselves around the cursed mark. Sasuke then fainted from the pain, but not before feeling the aching from his shoulders, vanish. Lee was impressed at the jutsu but moved his eyes to his left.

"Alright, you've been watching from those shadows long enough. Why don't you come out in the light of these torches?" asked Lee, speaking to the darkness. Kakashi's eyes widened as he turned to face a man who hasn't shown his face for years. Kakashi growled.

"Is that any way to greet an old acquaintance, Lee? I was hoping for a more pleasant one, like hello or good morning," he said. He then glanced to Kakashi and smiled at him. "Ah, Kakashi... it's been a while, hasn't it? You've grown into a man now and gained enough power to use sealing jutsus, I see."

"Orochimaru... you dare show your face back here after all this time?" he asked as he began charging his fist with a shocking blue type of sparking energy. Lee didn't know what kind of jutsu that was, but it felt powerful. However, he knew that all powerful jutsus consumed a massive amount of chakra. A sealing jutsu consumes a lot of chakra too. There's no way Kakashi's body would be able to hold the strain after he performed this rather impressive technique, which seemed to be increasing in power and chakra consumption with every second that passed by.

"Don't waste your energy, Kakashi-sensei," said Lee, stepping in between Kakashi and Orochimaru. "This thing is just a shadow clone. The real Orochimaru isn't anywhere near here. That being said, what do you want?"

"You noticed that I'm just a shadow clone, huh? You also noticed my presence while I was hidden under one of my cloaking jutsus. I must admit, Lee, you really are a very interesting specimen. Perhaps I should give you a cursed mark too, but I doubt I'd ever be given the chance to do so. A god-like being such as yourself would be a great ally to have, but I don't think you'd be interested in anything I'd have to say, are you?" he asked.

"God-like?" asked Kakashi as he turned to the genin before him. "Lee, what in the world is he talking about?"

"Oh? You mean he doesn't know?" asked Orochimaru, smiling a bit as he looked to Kakashi. "Interesting. I'd tell you but I don't think it's really my place to do so. Your power may allow you to survive my onslaught, when the time comes, Lee, but I doubt your little friends will."

"I won't allow it to happen. I'll stop you when the time comes. I refuse to allow you to slay anyone with your slimy little snake hands," said Lee, sounding very serious. Kakashi was baffled. What are these two talking about? What did Orochimaru mean when he said something about Lee being some sort of a god? How did Lee know Orochimaru? And what was Orochimaru planning? He had heard something from Anko that Orochimaru was in the village, but his motives remained to be a mystery. On top of that, Orochimaru can't have possibly come here to chit chat with them. Was he really here for Sasuke? What in blazes was going on around here?

"I've heard enough, Orochimaru. Tell me, why are you really here? You can't possibly be here to share a cup of tea with us and bore us with your life story," said Kakashi, holding up a kunai. The pale faced man shrugged his shoulders.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt. I came her to tell you that your sealing jutsu was a success, but it won't work for too long. I know that kind of jutsu and it's only as strong as Sasuke's will. Soon, he will seek me out in thirst for more power, when he learns of the true abilities of the cursed mark. He knows that I gave it to him and we all know what his purpose in life is, right? To kill a certain man? Well, to kill this man, he'll need power, a lot of it. He will come and find me and I will grant him the power and training that he desires in order to achieve his goal," he said.

"Do you expect us to believe that you're doing this out of the kindness of your heart? I'm not even sure that you still have one but come now, Orochimaru, what's the real game? There's something that you're hiding from us," said Lee, unwilling to believe what this man was saying.

"Very perceptive, but I can't reveal that part of my plan, or I won't get to laugh at everyone's hilarious facial expressions when they find out. I guess you'll just have to wait and see. Well, I better run. Evil doers have their own agenda to take care of and I'm no different, so I guess this is our good bye for now," he said as he vanished in a puff of smoke. Lee sighed to himself as Kakashi turned to pick up Sasuke.

"Well, I found out everything that I came for, so I'll be going now," he said. Lee was about to leave when Kakashi held him back by the shoulder.

"You're not going anywhere without me. You and I will take Sasuke back to the treatment room and we'll make our way back to the main hall on foot. All the while, you'll be telling me everything you know about this plot, as well as what you know about Tenten's regenerative properties," he said as he drenched all of the torches with a water jutsu.

"Do I really have to? My match could be starting at any minute now," he said, trying to get himself out of his mess. "What's Gai-sensei going to say when I tell him that you held me up because you wanted a few bits of information from a little genin like me? Besides, what do you expect me to know? Who's to say that I wasn't just playing smart so I don't look dumb in front of you or that guy with the pale face?"

"This isn't the time for games, Lee. I know that you're aware of what's going on around here. I don't give a flying fish about anything else at the moment, and that includes your match or this chunin exam. The mere fact that Orochimaru is here could mean danger for this entire village. Are you really willing to put all of that aside because of some test that presents itself twice a year? There will be other times for you to take this test, should you fail to be present for your match with whoever you're going up against," he said, anger emanating from his voice as the two climbed the stairs that led to the floor where Sasuke's room was located. Lee didn't want to do it, but he spilled everything that he knew about Orochimaru. He didn't know a single thing about the lunatic's motives but he knew that that man was up to no good. Regarding Tenten's ability to heal, he enforced his word earlier, while they were still in the main hall. He would tell him and everyone else who needed to know, after the preliminary rounds. Kakashi was reluctant to accept the offer but figured it was better than nothing.

After dropping off Sasuke, both leaf shinobi made their way back to the main hall for Lee's match. Kakashi was still confused about one last thing. What kind of god-like abilities did Lee possess? He decided to leave that question alone until Lee was ready to answer. It wasn't as important as everything else that Lee had just told him now. He encountered Orochimaru in the forest of death while saving Anko... and lived? How is it that one of the leaf village's most dangerous criminal was unable to finish off a mere genin? The boy is good at his art, no doubt there, but still. Orochimaru is in a whole other level that Lee shouldn't be anywhere close to. Orochimaru eluded the ANBU squads that chased after him, when they were given the order to. But not only did said shinobi elude them, but he managed to capture some and use the others for his egotistic experiments that did nothing but fuel his quest for power and the one thing that he craved for that a lot of people wanted... immortality. When they arrived back in the main hall Kakashi returned to his squad as Lee returned to his own.

"What happened, Lee?" asked Tenten.

"I learned a few things which I'll tell you about, after the preliminary rounds. But first, what happened while I was gone?" he asked.

"Shikamaru defeated that Kin chick from the sound village, using his shadow possession jutsu, which allows him to manipulate the shadows of whoever he captures. It was a rather interesting fight, to say the least. After them, it was Temari and Kabuto's other teammate. That guy had some odd powers, such as having the ability to stretch his body like a snake. He caught Temari only once, but it happened to be a substitution jutsu. Temari appeared behind him and tore him up with her Wind Scythe jutsu. That match just ended a while ago. Now it's Kiba's turn, and guess who he's pitted up against?" she asked. Lee didn't know at first but when he saw a gust of sand vanish from the other side and appear on the ground, he sighed.

"I bet I know who... what a lucky dog. I wanted to be the one to fight his opponent," he said. "Well, at least I get to see what techniques Gaara is capable of."

Kiba, for the first time in his life, was actually experiencing true fear. He could feel it from Akamaru, who was shivering like a wet dog, and he had every right to. Gaara's power was unlike anything he'd ever felt before, and that alone was enough to cause him to shake in fear. He had those eyes that made other killers look like infants. There seemed to be something more to this guy than just being a sand shinobi. His two sand teammates looked like regular people, possessing regular techniques and chakra levels. Akamaru has the ability to sense the chakra level of anyone that he comes close to and if he was shaken up this bad, it must mean that Gaara's power was truly frightening. Kiba jumped down from the stands, being warned severely by Kurenai, about Gaara's power. She asked if he wanted to withdraw, but he refused. He now wished that he didn't. Gaara looked deep into his eyes and spoke in his scary voice.

"I'll say this once and once only. Give up now and turn away. Someone who is shaking just by looking at me is not worth my time. Most of the good fighters have already fought and are done with their preliminary rounds. There's only one person remaining who doesn't seem to quake in his boots just by looking at me. The only one I wish to fight now is..." he said, looking over to one black-coated leaf shinobi, who was looking back. "... Him."

"I'm sorry, Gaara of the sand, but the machines decide who you fight against. If Kiba withdraws now, or you defeat him, then you may obtain the chance to fight the one you wish to do battle with, granted he's as strong as you say," said Hayate, as he looked over to the one who wore a leather black coat. That kid truly is something, alright. During Neji and Hinata's battle with each other, when Neji was about to deal the final blow, he and the girl beside him arrived in the scene about half a second before the other jonin did. His speed is amazing, especially since he's from all the way up in the stands, while Hayate was a few mere feet close to Neji. Maybe that boy really is as strong as Gaara implies, but rules are rules. Hayate knew that deep in his heart, he would actually like to see who is the victor between them both, but the machine chose the opponents, and those are who will be fighting for now.

"Again, Gaara, I sincerely apologize, but no one can grant your request. Your opponent is Kiba and that's that," he said. Gaara glared daggers at the proctor but nodded.

"Fine then. I'll kill him quickly," he said as he turned back to Kiba, uncorking his gourd. "You should feel honored that I'm going to end this as painless as possible. I normally play with my food before I eat it but I refuse to waste any more time than what I've already done in this worthless exam."

When Hayate started the match, Kiba readied himself for battle, but figured that he'd be in on this alone, since Akamaru was so shaken up with fear of Gaara. Kurenai asked herself if she was willing to allow herself to let her student be brutally murdered by this monster from the sand village. Whatever it was that this guy had with Gai's student, was of no concern to her. Her only priority was to save as many lives as possible. She nearly failed with Hinata, but she wouldn't allow herself to be anywhere near close to failing his next student, Kiba. The Inuzuka has a lot of potential, she could see it, but his true abilities hasn't manifested yet. Kiba is still young and needs time to continue training. He is no match for Gaara, that's for sure. As much as it pained her to be the one responsible for Kiba's failure of the test, she at least wanted him to preserve his life and live long enough to reach his fullest potential. But before she was able to act, Gaara already acted. Kiba tried to evade it, but Gaara caught him and Akamaru in a wrapping of sand, ready to crush them with the next move.

"Sand Burial!" Gaara shouted. Kiba closed his eyes, ready for death, but for the third time in the day, another person escaped certain death. Lee was seen in front of Gaara, his hand crushing the red-head's wrist like it was made of twigs. Gaara grunted in tremendous pain and stared at the one he wanted to fight. Kurenai and the rest of the other jonin were surprised again at the speed that Lee presented. They didn't even see him and there he was, holding Gaara's wrist and crushing it. Kiba had now lost, because of Lee, but Kurenai was grateful. Because she thought about it too much, Kiba could have lost his life. She wouldn't have been able to arrive down there in time to stop the attack. She was very grateful to Gai's student. Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the black coated genin. Oh, he's going to have a lot of explaining to do, that's for sure.

"I've interfered and saved his life, you are the winner of this match. Now call off your attack or I'll rip your wrist from your arm and shove it down your throat, causing you to choke in your own blood," Gaara was about to answer when his sand was removed from Kiba and Akamaru. Against his own will, the sand moved to attack Lee, but he vanished. He was seen on top of the stands, holding the back of Kiba's jacket. He dropped the Inuzuka genin on the ground, right next to his female sensei. Lee knew that he had total grip of Gaara's hand, so the sand must have moved on its own somehow. The sand shinobi wasn't controlling it at all, adding to the mystery that only Lee knew for the moment. Gaara massaged his wrist with his other hand and looked to Lee.

"Killing that worthless fool would have been a waste of my chakra, so I suppose I should thank you for saving his pathetic life before his unworthy blood soaked my sand. I expect you to defeat that weakling from the sound village. I would very much like to fight you in the final rounds of this exam. Your flesh and bones will be a good meal to satisfy my hunger," he said as he vanished in a swirl of sand. Hayate sighed to himself and thanked his lucky stars that he wasn't the one to get in the way of that one. It's odd that whenever someone's life was about to be taken, it was that student from Gai's squad who would always step in. Not that the proctor minded, of course, but he did wonder why the boy kept doing it. Oh well, that's a question for another time. As for now, there's one final match to deal with.

"Will the remaining genin please step down so the last battle will commence?" he asked, coughing in between his words. Lee nodded and zipped down to the ground. Dosu was a bit reluctant to fight him, after seeing him save three lives from one dangerous shinobi, one freaky kunoichi, and one powerful shinobi. Although a bit afraid, he knew that this guy seemed to be the self-righteous kind of person and would never kill. The sound ninja knew that this battle was a loss, but he wanted to be defeated with pride. In a sense, he counted himself lucky for being pitted against this guy. It could have been that Gaara fellow or even that Tenten chick who could heal from any wound, but it wasn't. Dosu smiled through his cloth wrappings and jumped down, ready to fight. His opponent was Rock Lee of the hidden leaf village, and he couldn't ask for a better fight. Dosu cleared his throat.

"Before we start this match, let me just say that it is an honor to fight against someone like you. You've saved three people from certain death today, and you've earned my respect. You also seem to be a great shinobi, another reason for earning my respect. I foresee that I will lose to you but even so, I still have my pride as a sound shinobi. You'll have to work for your victory, my friend, and I'll try not to disappoint you," he said, revealing the sound cannon from his right arm that he used to attack Kabuto, before the written portion of the exam.

"Thank you, Dosu. I'll try not to disappoint you as well. If you'll give it your best, I will be happy. Your best is all I could ask from you, friend, and it is what I will expect. Besides, I do believe you owe me from the bit of help that I gave you during the forest of death exam, or have you forgotten?" he asked. Dosu chuckled.

"I haven't forgotten that and it will be repaid to you in due time. However, I will fight you with my very best skills and jutsu, not because I am in debted to you, but because I respect you as a fellow shinobi. You should feel honored, as I rarely respect any of my colleagues, even those in my squad," he said. Hayate nodded to them both and gave the signal to start the match. Lee pulled pulled out his kunai blades from his hip belt and readied himself for combat. Dosu was the first to start by forming a hand seal with one hand his left hand. He looked to Lee and swiped his arm in the air. Lee was a bit weirded out when Dosu swung in mid air, but all was made clear when Lee's eyes saw what looked like a ripple in the air, and it was coming straight for him. Thinking quickly, he leaped a few feet up and landed right back down. He looked to the wall behind him, a horizontal and crescent shaped mark was left on the wall. He turned back to Dosu.

"I knew that my respect for you wasn't misguided. No one has ever managed to see my Sonic Boom jutsu in time to avoid it. Which makes me wonder, how did you see it? That attack is supposed to travel at the speed of sound, invisible to human eyes," he asked.

"Well, let's just say I have a few surprised up my sleeves," he said as he charged in. Having no time to perform another Sonic Boom, Dosu dropped his metal gauntlet, pulled out two kunai knives, and engaged Lee in a weapons battle. Both fighters appeared from on place to another and every time they made themselves visible to human eyes, they would be seen either clashing kunais or exchanging blows, and then vanish again. The speed of sound versus the speed of gods, and neither shinobi seemed to be getting tired of their incredibly high speed combat. They made themselves visible in front of everyone else once more, but started running at in a clock-wise circle, never removing their eyes from each other. Eventually, their impressive speed created a tornado where they ran around in and fought inside. The shinobi and kunoichi from the leaf, sound, and sand, were rather shocked at the speed of these two combatants. Gai smiled at his student, every bit as proud now as the day he met him.

Dosu and Lee continued to fight inside the tornado, never stopping to rest or to catch a breath. Black steel clashed with silver metal as both shinobi barraged at each other with increasing speed. Sparks flew out of the tornado, and that's about the only thing that everyone else saw inside. Kakashi raised his forehead protector, revealing his sharingan, using that in an attempt to see high speed combat that was being displayed between the two shinobi. Neji activated his byakugan for the same reason that Kakashi was using his sharingan. He knew that Lee could move fast, but who knew it could be this fast? The byakugan and sharingan couldn't even fathom and properly capture the speed that Lee was going in, and that meant Dosu as well. They could only see mere glimpses of the two, instead of full images. Neji understood Lee's speed, but never knew that someone else could move at such a pace. Dosu would definitely have been a great opponent to test out his new jutsu.

Tenten had about the same reaction as Neji and Kakashi. She thought that only she and Lee possessed that kind of speed, but it's only right that someone of the sound village could move at the speed of sound. Grateful for her training, her eyes were able to keep up with their movements, even with their increasing speed, knowing that she herself could move like that. It didn't seem like Dosu was tiring either, but he was sustaining injuries. It didn't look like Dosu could passively heal either, so that's something less to worry about. But his stamina was unreal. Tenten thought that only those with massive stamina capacities, or a healing ability like hers and Lee's, could keep up with that kind of strain on the body, but Dosu was proving her wrong. Lee was a bit curious as well, feeling the same sentiments as his girlfriend was. Dosu was moving at the same speed he was, and that was definitely something to note his attention on. Before he was able to think about it, however, Dosu surprised him with a back kick. Lee crossed his arms to block it, having already been moving at the direction to it and couldn't avoid. Although protecting himself from the attack, he was thrown out of the tornado and landed on the ground. Dosu slowed his running to a walk as the tornado disappeared. The sound shinobi noticed a few drops of blood coming out of his wounds. They weren't fatal, just minor flesh wounds.

"Impressive, very impressive indeed, Lee," said Dosu, closing his eyes and smiling through his cloth wrappings. "I've never seen anyone who could keep up with that level of speed. But I bet you're wondering how someone like me can sustain that kind of speed. Well, it all happened during a mission in the land of thunder. I saved Kin's life and pushed her away from a thunder based jutsu from one of the most powerful shinobi in that village. The jutsu knocked me out but my life wasn't in danger, as my squad managed to safely retreat. When I woke up, the doctors told me that the thunder attack burned off much of my skin and destroyed the vision I have on my right eye. My skin eventually healed, but my right eye wasn't so fortunate. A week later, the doctors ran a test on me and said that the lightning jutsu that took away half of my vision, was absorbed by my body.

"Now, I have a constant flow of renewable energy, pumping through my body. I may not be able to heal as quick as that Tenten girl, nor do I possess dangerous chakra like that Neji kid or Gaara of the sand, but I have near infinite physical stamina. I can fight for days, even weeks without tiring. Food and water is still something that I need but I can last longer without it, than any other human that I've seen in my life. I was seen as a freak by many of my colleagues and didn't want to have anything to do with me. But when I met a special someone, he took my under his wing and trained me to hone my new ability," he said.

"Who was this special someone?" asked Lee. Dosu, not wanting to say anything to anyone, couldn't directly answer that. He tapped in to his speed once more and vanished. Lee vanished as well, continuing to move in high speed again. They ran around the area to maintain the speed. Dosu moved close to Lee and whispered something in his ear. Tenten narrowed her eyes. She was able to watch their movements, but not hear whisper voices that was coming from Dosu. When he finished telling Lee, he returned to his original spot, as did Lee. Going at the speed that they were at, it looked like they vanished from the human eye for only a mere two seconds, but they were really running around for over a whole minute. As the two continued their battle, Tenten reminded herself to ask Lee what it was that Dosu said, after this exam.

"I see, and if what you say is true, then we have no quarrel with each other. This is just a huge misunderstanding then, and you were just following orders. I will speak to the Hokage about this and ask him for your request. You would be a valuable ally to us and I won't waste that opportunity. I'm pretty good at judging people when they are telling lies, and I don't sense any malicious intent coming from you. I will indeed speak to the Hokage, but after this match, which I believe has been dragging on for too long," said Lee.

"Are you sure it's been so long already? Most of our combat was done in high speed. To us it's been a long fight, but to those who can't keep up with our movements, it might have just been a few minutes, give or take," Dosu replied.

"Point taken, but they aren't in this fight, you and I are," said Lee.

"I agree. Now let's give it everything we've got in one final move," he said. Lee replied as both shinobi zipped and reappeared on the opposite sides of the room. Upon smirking at each other, they charged at one another in blinding speed, a single fist raised in the air from the both of them. In a sense, they were like jousting, but this punch would decide it all. When they clashed, Dosu was seen flying through the air, in the opposite way from the direction where he was running. The sound shinobi crashed on the wall behind him and made an imprint. Lee was still standing. No one but Dosu saw that a single trickle of blood was about to fall from a wound on Lee's lip, but went back inside as his wound closed. Dosu's eyes widened for a while but smiled a bit later as his body fell on the ground. Lee walked to him. Dosu looked up, noticing a hand near him.

"Oh yeah... I forgot you could do that too..." he asked, still trying to recover from the punch that was delivered to his face. He was actually surprised that his head was still in tact with his body. That punch felt like an elephant smashed his face with its feet. Lee helped him to stand on his feet. Dosu felt a bit shaky, but was alright.

"Do you mind keeping that between us? A few people already know and I don't really want the whole world to know that I can heal very quickly. I wanted to keep that to myself, but things happened and... you know," he said. Dosu nodded. Everyone who was watching the match was very astounded at the performance. All except Gaara, were very surprised. The only thing that was in the red-head's mind was doing battle with Lee, and he couldn't wait. Gai was proud of his student, incredibly proud. The Hokage smiled at the victory of a leaf ninja over one of the sound ninja. There were two sand ninja left and seven leaf ninja, all of whom seemed to be the best of the best. Ibiki was right earlier when he said that there was a very good crop of candidates this year. A preliminary match hasn't been held in years but the old man was glad that it revealed only the finest ninja out of the many who signed up and participated for this year's chunin exam. He was also proud that there were more leaf ninja that remained, than any other squad of genin that came from other villages. Sarutobi vanished in a puff of smoke and appeared right next to Hayate.

"I suppose that concludes the preliminary rounds. Now, will all of those who stand victorious, please come down?" he asked. Dosu moved back upstairs, noting that Kin and Kazu were still probably in the recovery room along with the others who sustained critical damage in their fights. The remaining eight shinobi and kunoichi walked down from the stands and gathered near the Hokage. "First off, I'd like to congratulate you all for passing the preliminary rounds of this exam. I know it was sudden but those of you who remain here out of the 20 people who were here before, are the best of the best in this exam. The third and final portion of the exam will be the same as this one, a sudden death exam. Land lords and other village leaders will be arriving to watch you all compete, and their time will not be wasted. However, this event will take place in exactly one month from today."

"What? A month?" asked Shikamaru. "Not that I'm ungrateful for the break period, but what's the deal?"

"Good question, Shikamaru. The reason why the third part of the chunin exam will be held in one month is because it takes that much time to relay the message to the neighboring countries, for them to respond, and to arrive in the leaf village to watch the final round. Secondly, you now know the techniques that your opponents possess. This month of preparation may also be used so you can develop new jutsus and fighting strategies to use against your opponents. It would be quite boring if you were to use the same old techniques as you used today, as powerful as some of them were. The ones judging you will be the land lords and village leaders, who will be the ones to give you your missions, should you become chunin. Does that answer your question?" asked the old man. Shikamaru nodded. The pineapple head looked to Lee. He never thought that the black-coated genin could move faster than a bullet. Maybe this month would prove useful after all.

"I have a question too, lord Hokage," said Temari. "If it will be the land lords and village leaders from other countries who will be watching us and judging us, wouldn't that mean that they are the ones who will decide whether we become chunin or not? Now, seeing as we're the best of the best, isn't there a chance that all of us can become chunin?"

"Correct," said the Hokage. "But there's also a chance that none of you can become chunin. Winning the competition doesn't necessarily make you a chunin, although there are very high chances of such a possibility that you will ascend to the next rank. The point of winning your matches is to give yourselves more chances of being able to show your judges more of your techniques, so as to strengthen their decision on whether you will or will not become a chunin. As I said before, they will be the ones giving you your missions and they'll need to know that they are promoting only the best."

Temari nodded and remaiend silent.

"If that is all, then it's time to move on to the next part. Anko will be passing around a box with papers inside. You will each pull a piece of paper out and it will be recorded by Ibiki," he said as the intimidating jonin from the forest of death started going around with a box in her hand. Every remaining genin reached into the box and pulled out a number. When that was finished, the Hokage pulled the last number out, which was for Sasuke, who was still probably in the recovery room. When they all showed their numbers, Ibiki wrote them down on his sheet of paper. Sarutobi showed him Sasuke's number as that one was recorded as well.

"The numbers that you have just presented to Ibiki has determined who you will fight in your first match of the final round," said the old man. He nodded to Ibiki, who showed the genin the results. Naruto versus Neji for the first fight. Shikamaru versus Temari for ther second fight. Sasuke versus Gaara for the third fight. Lee versus Tenten for the fourth fight. And because there was an odd number of competitors, Shino gets a free by pass for the first round. Naruto glared at Neji, glad that he would get the chance to teach that stuck up guy what it feels like to lose to a real ninja who works hard to attain power and change his destiny. Shikamaru looked to Temari and rolled his eyes, frustrated that he had to fight another girl. Gaara was a bit annoyed that he wouldn't get to fight Lee yet but wasn't too mad, as Sasuke is a good choice too. Lee looked to his girlfriend, who returned the glance. They knew that at one point, they would be placed against each other, and there's no better time than the final round of the chunin exam. Shino made no grimace or complaint.

"Good. Now that everything has been set, this concludes our meeting here today. Your jonin teachers or other leaf chunin will escort you out of this place. Those who are in the recovery room will be transported to the best hospital in the leaf village, as there is better equipment in there to further tend to their wounds and injuries. I will see you all in a month. Good luck in your training and may the best ninja become our next chunin," he said as he vanished. Neji, Lee, and Tenten, met up with their jonin teacher, as well as team Kakashi minus Sasuke. Kakashi turned to face Lee.

"Alright Lee, I think it's time for that explanation now," said Kakashi.

"I know, but not here. Meet me on top of the monument of the past Hokages, in about four hours. I'll explain everything and answer all of your questions up there. Oh and, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, aren't allowed to attend for personal reasons that I hold in my grasp. Neji is allowed to come because he knows about Tenten's healing ability, but not its origins, which I will also explain up there," he said. Kakashi rolled his right eye but agreed to the terms that Lee has placed on the table. In addition to that, a decent meal was in order from these rounds and Naruto wouldn't stop bugging him to be treated for some ramen.

"Fine, I accept your terms. So it's just you, me, Gai, Tenten, and Neji, who will be up there. Am I correct?" he asked. Lee nodded. "Okay, but may I ask why four hours? Why not just right now?"

"Well, you may not know this yet, or you probably already do but I'll tell you anyway. Tenten and I are an item now and I'm taking her on a date before I spill my guts to you guys. I know the way out of this place, so I'll see you three in four hours," he said. Tenten smirked her him and embraced his shoulders. She was unaware of the surprise date but it was all good. Lee picked her up, bridal style and zipped, vanishing from the eyes of everyone.

"Right then, Kakashi, Neji, I'll see you guys later too," he said as he too vanished but in a puff of smoke. Naruto and Sakura were unaware at what was going on, but didn't care at the moment. Sakura just wanted to go home and rest, while Naruto was aching to have some ramen in his stomach. The silver haired jonin looked to his students and was about to leave when a voice stopped him. He turned around, as did Naruto and Sakura, to face the one that the voice belonged to. It was that sound shinobi that Lee defeated in his match. What did he want? Neji looked at him but decided to remain silent, still thinking about his fight with Naruto, one month from today.

"Are you the one called Kakashi Hatake?" he asked. Kakashi nodded. "Well, you didn't see this earlier, but Lee asked me to tag along with you and he also told me to ask you to ask a man named Mito Gai, to show me his apartment, where I will be staying for a while."

"Oh... no, no, no, I saw that with my sharingan. Although I didn't hear any of it, I saw a nod from Lee when you two were talking while engaging in a high speed combat. I don't know where Lee lives but I'll ask Gai for you. Surely he knows where his prized pupil's apartment is. Until then, I suppose you're coming with me," he said as he and the four other genin walked out of the door, along with Asuma's and Kurenai's squads. The jonin from the sand village and his squad also followed suit.

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Wahoo! I think that was my longest chapter yet. Finally, on to the main event. Wait... no not yet. The next chapter will be a filler but still quite important to read. If you don't like filler chapters, I suppose you can skip it, if you want. I think that's all I'm saying for now. It's 4:36 am and I'm tired as hell. See you guys on chapter 13!!

Ja ne!


	13. Chapter 13

**Legend of the Iron Monkey**

**Naruto Fanfiction**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a single shred of Naruto.**

**Chapter 13: Confessions of a Teenage Demi-god**

**__________________________________________________**

Lee and Tenten appeared atop Lee's apartment, three hours later. Tenten couldn't describe it, but she had a wonderful time with Lee. The young shinobi allowed his girlfriend to stand on her own feet, feeling the windy breeze pass by them. Tenten pulled her hair tie off and allowed her long, brown, hair to dance around in the wind. She was rather glad that the blades that belonged to his puppet, only stabbed at her thighs and arms, or she would have to deal with clothes with holes on them, and she didn't really want that at the moment. Her wounds had closed long ago, feeling no pain at all in her body... all thanks to Lee. If it wasn't for her training with him, she would be in worse condition. Her wounds would have been so bad that she might have become crippled and unable to achieve her dream as a kunoichi. So in a sense, she actually owed her life to Lee. He made her strong and he saved her life. He's always there for her, even when it seems like he wasn't, and no one has ever been that good to her. She was definitely grateful. Tenten moved behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Lee... thank you," she said, smiling through his coat. Lee, at first, didn't understand what she was thanking him for. But a second later, he remembered that she was eternally grateful for the ability that he granted to her. Technically, it was the cave's doing, but if it wasn't for him, she may not be around to see her dream come to reality. Lee held her hands with his gloved ones, filling them with his warmth.

"No problem. I'll drop anything for you, you know that, right?" he asked sincerely.

"I do. No one has ever treated me this way before and I guess the feeling does seem a bit foreign. It's only been a few days, but I feel like I can close my eyes and fall from this apartment, knowing I won't touch the ground because you'll have caught me in your arms. Then you would hold me in your arms, bend down to kiss me, and fill my heart with endless bliss," she said. Lee nodded, smiling at her. He turned and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. This girl... he swore to himself right then and there that if he could help it, no harm would come to her that would threaten her life. He'd never felt such a feeling of protection over someone before, and Tenten was right, it felt foreign, but he could get used to it. Gai once told him, during their training together, that a shinobi's power increases ten-fold when he has someone he wishes to protect with his life.

"Tenten... can I stay here with you for a while longer?" he asked, no longer wishing to go anywhere else.

"No..." she said, smiling at him. "Let's go somewhere but... stay with me forever."

"I can do that too," he said, capturing her lips onto hers. The two smiled through the kiss, not remembering another time where they felt happier. Tenten almost felt her eyes watering, but didn't want to release them to give Lee the wrong idea. She felt a rare form of happiness that, for some reason, only Lee could give to her. She felt happy, content, protected, safe. This love was different, different from a parent's love, different from a friend's compassion. His love was different and it felt good. As Lee continued the kiss, he felt so much at peace, like his life needed something like this. He wanted to hold her forever, keep her safe, and keep her happy. For the moment, Orochimaru's evil didn't even pass through his mind. There was only Tenten and this moment. The sun was perfect, the wind was right, and there wasn't a single cloud in the seemingly endless blue sky. It was like his ancestors wanted this for him and he couldn't thank them enough. He wanted this, he needed this... he wanted and needed Tenten. When they pulled away, they looked to each other, smiling as bright as the rays of the golden sun. Lee rested his forehead on Tenten's brushing lips against hers.

"Lee... stop teasing me. That's so mean," she said playfully. Said young man could only chuckle but he was having so much fun. Tenten exhaled her warm breath, intoxicating Lee's senses to sky rocketing levels. His senses were going wilder than ever, but he had to maintain self control. Tenten just attacked him right there, and she almost succeeded.

"Look who's being mean? I almost went insane when you exhaled on me. Your scent is amazing," he said, taking it all in some more. Tenten smiled at him again and pressed her head on his chest. This was what she wanted and it felt great. Lee stroked her silky hair, down. Such things were one of the rarest pleasures in life. He wanted to just live with her, like this, together, but knew it wasn't possible yet. There's still evil out there, threatening to destroy everything and everyone he held so dear to him. Tenten can survive, but he knew that it would break her down if she saw anyone die in front of her, and he wouldn't allow that to happen. The leaf knew of the attack now, Kakashi was probably taking care of it all, as well as the other jonin in the village. Measures have to be taken to ensure the safety of the village. He looked to her.

"Let's get out of here. I'm kind of hungry," he said.

"Yeah, me too. Let's get some Ichiraku ramen," she suggested. Lee was slightly surprised.

"Really? You said you hated that stuff, two years ago, when Gai was telling us of our likes and dislikes," he said, remembering that day. He told her that he liked ramen, just like Naruto, and she was so far against it. "Yeah, I remember it like it happened yesterday."

"Well, your qualities are rubbing off of me. And plus, Teuchi served me some while we were in the tower. I was hesitant to eating it at first, because it's just full of so much carbohidrates and I didn't want any of that getting to me. But he added his very special ingredient. It was pretty much diet ramen," she said. Lee lowered his eyebrows, unable to believe that there's actually something called diet ramen. Noodles are practically rice, just in a different shape, form, and color. What can that ramen chef possibly put in there that would take away the excess carbohydrates and leave only what a daily shinobi would need? "And at the time, I was very concerned about my figure. It wasn't in my mindset at the time to start dating anyone, but if I did, I at least wanted to look a little appealing to the eye."

"You'll always be appealing to my eyes," he said sweetly.

"Thanks," she giggled, biting her bottom lip, feeling a blush coming around. She didn't want to blush anymore, getting a bit dizzy from all the blood going to her head, but it couldn't be helped. It was like the same effect Naruto had on Hinata. Now that they're an item, she felt like there were butterflies in her stomach, lifting her up into the sky. "Now come on, it's my treat."

Lee nodded as they both jumped off of his apartment's rooftop. They caught many pairs of eyes as they walked along the streets of the leaf village. The village kunoichi and female citizens all formed hearts on their eyes as they looked to Lee, admiring his attire and overall appearance. But their hearts were flattened when he was seen holding another kunoichi's hand, the hand that belonged to Tenten. She knew how the females were looking at him, but he didn't mind, because he wasn't looking back. His eyes are only for her, and she knew that. He looked to her and gave her one of his most genuine smiles. Many shinobi and male village citizens were also giving Tenten the same look, but stopped when they saw Lee. His appearance looked incredibly intimidating, even to other chunin. By his appearance, they thought he was a jonin. Only higher ranked shinobi would dress that sharp, and the scarf on his neck just added to the effect of his appearance when it would dance along the passing wind.

It wasn't just his scarf that made him look so sharp, but also his coat and his hair. It's like Lee did that on purpose to attact the eyes of so many, but she knew that wasn't the reason. She had to admit though, it looked really good. And the fact that he was wearing an entire black set of soft leather clothing, made him look extremely professional. Tenten's outfit also made her not only professional but very attractive. At first, she thought it was very revealing, but got used to it. It was very comfortable and allowed her to move freely as if she wasn't wearing anything. Lee crafted it for her, on his own, and poured his heart and soul into it. That's one of the main reasons why Tenten discarded her old outfit to wear the new one. Someone actually spent his good time to make something for her, and it was not only a nice outfit but proved to be very useful. Plus, it has her two favorite colors, black and red. People back then thought that black and red looked creepy, but Tenten was able to pull it off and proved them wrong. When they arrived at their destination, they entered the ramen stand and noticed that they weren't alone. Naruto and Hinata were there.

"Hinata? What in the world are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in bed, resting?" asked Tenten, worried for her friend. Hinata nodded. She looked to Naruto for a second, blushing all the way, and then turned to face her older friend.

"Naruto and Sakura visited me in the hospital and told me the events that occurred after I was taken away. I'm not sure if Naruto just signed a death wish, but I don't think so anymore. No one has ever done that for me before, and I guess I'm just not used to it. But, it gave me the strength to get up from bed. I should probably be feeling tremendous pain, but I don't feel it because Naruto is here. He then took me here after Kakashi-sensei said that he had something to take care of. And... in the hospital he..." she trailed off, unable to continue. She merely smiled at Tenten and nodded, confirming the older kunoichi's thoughts. Tenten's mouth widened as she looked over to Lee, who was talking to a blushing Naruto. Lee was just as surprised as Tenten, when he learned of what Naruto just told him.

"Are you serious?" asked Tenten.

"Yes, it's true. Naruto asked me on a date and I accepted. I'm so happy that this is finally happening," she said, feeling a tear come down from here eyes. Naruto stood from his chair and wrapped his arms around the back side of Hinata's shoulders. Hinata smiled. "And since then, I don't faint around him anymore. I don't know what effect he has on me, but I think I'm really getting stronger just by being around him."

"I think so too, Hinata. You should hold on to him if he's that special to you. And if he makes you as strong as you say, you two should never part from each other. It's the same with me, yet I don't know why. Just by being around Lee, I feel like not even the world can stop me. I feel that as long as Lee is beside me, I can take on the world and I'm not afraid. His presence makes me feel stronger too, just like Naruto's presence with you," said Tenten. Hinata nodded and smiled at her. She turned to face Naruto and stood up. She leaned her head on the taller boy's neck as she embraced him tightly. Lee smiled to them both. He was glad that Naruto had finally found someone who he could share his experiences with, and who better than to do that with than Hinata? The eldest daughter of the Hyuuga clan actually has had her eyes on him for as long as anyone can remember. He was just too focused with his training to even realize what was going on right in front of him. Lee turned to Tenten, his significant other. He remembered the days when his training was far more important than anything else in the world. Now, his training is still important, but someone else became more important.

"Alright love birds, your meals are ready," said Teuchi, arriving with four bowls of steaming hot ramen. The two couples nodded and sat down on their seats. As they ate, Tenten smiled to herself and leaned on Lee's shoulders. Lee placed a hand on her cheek and kissed her on the top of her nose. It was a rather ticklish feeling and she liked it. Hinata picked up a few strands of noodles from her bowl and raised it to Naruto's mouth. The blond devoured the noodles and planted a kiss on Hinata's cheek. Hinata's eyes widened for half a second, but melted to the feeling afterward. She placed one hand on her cheek, still feeling the wet sensation that smelled like ramen. Unaware of her actions, Hinata stood from her seat and lightly placed her arms around the blond's neck. She bent her head down and returned his kiss, on the same side of his cheek. Naruto placed his hand on the spot of the kiss as Hinata returned to her meal. When they finished, the two couples went their separate ways.

"Lee, I'm happy for them," she said.

"I am too. Naruto deserves to be happy, after everything he's been through. It's nice to see that he finally has someone to turn to when he's feeling down. I don't want him to feel sad and I guess that request came true. And Hinata is happy as well," he said. Tenten nodded as she took a glance at a clock inside one of the shops that they passed by. The agreed meeting time was in about half an hour and it takes quite a bit of time to get to the top of the Hokage monument. Lee wondered what Tenten was looking at. When he saw the time, his eyes widened. "It's that time already?!"

"I didn't realize it either. I was having so much fun," said Tenten. Just then, an idea popped into her head. "Well, I know we just ate and this would probably be a bad idea, but how about we race there?"

"Really? I'm gonna vomit. Are you serious?" asked Lee. Tenten raised an eyebrow.

"Is my sweetheart actually refusing to take a challenge?" she asked. Lee smirked and blew some air into her eyes. Tenten closed them and tried to adjust her vision. When she opened her eyes, he was gone. She heard a pair of foot steps from behind her, getting weaker and weaker. Tenten's mouth fell open and darted after him. "You... you little cheater! Get your ass back here!"

Lee chuckled and took to the roofs of the village houses. He could sense that Tenten was closing in on him, but he was just allowing her to. Whenever she would get closer, he would increase his speed and lengthen the already large gap that was between them. The kunoichi knew that he was laughing so hard, and she couldn't believe she fell for that cheap trick. But it was as Gai-sensei started to say when they reached the written part of the chunin exam. A ninja must see through deception. She knew for sure that she failed in that part of his saying. A vein popped on her forehead. She just wanted to tear him apart whenever the time came when she would catch up to him. As much as she wanted to, she knew that she couldn't. Lee is everything to her, now. He makes her feel happier than anyone ever good. Just by standing close was already a good feeling to her. When they arrived atop the Hokage monument, Kakashi, Gai, and Neji, were already there.

"I see that you guys actually remembered," said Lee. Kakashi nodded, already sick of all the waiting.

"Alright, enough waiting around. Let's start with Tenten's regeneration abilities. Where did she come across that kind of power and how do you know about it?" he asked.

"It was exactly one week before the start of the first portion of the chunin exam, the written part. Tenten asked me to help her train and for me to show her a few of my own moves. I didn't know how much I could teach her in just one week, so I resorted to my back up plan. You see, when I disappeared for two and a half months, I was actually training with someone in a very odd cave where the space and time continuum is different from the outside world. I received 10 years of training inside that cave with only 10 weeks passing in the outside world. That probably explains my sudden burst of power when you guys felt my aura. As for Tenten, I took her to that cave, where she not only received a full year of training, but the cave surrounded her with magical energies, giving her body the power to rapidly heal any injury in a matter of seconds," he said.

"But I don't understand something," said Neji. "You said you trained for 10 years, yet you don't look that much older than I do. How is that possible?"

"At first, I didn't exactly know. But the person that found me, told me that my body would change according to the amount of time that passed in the outside world. So, mentally speaking, I was 24 years old when I returned to the village. But because I spent another year in there, with Tenten, my mind and spirit is 25 years old, while my body remains to be that of a 14 year old boy," he said.

"But if what you say is true, what about Tenten?" Neji asked once more. "If your body changes according to the amount of time that passes in the outside world, why does she look taller and more defined than she did before she trained with you?"

"The cave's properties are different for me, as compared to Tenten and anyone else who doesn't share my blood line. For me and those of my blood line, our bodies grow according to the amount of time that passes in the outside world. But for Tenten and anyone else outside of my family, their bodies grow according to the amount of time that passes inside the cave. However, her life span decreases according to the amount of time that passes outside. So in summary, Tenten has the body of a 15 year old girl, but she's still technically only 14 years of age," he said. "Yeah, it was confusing to me too, but you guys will get it eventually."

"I understand," said Gai. "So where is this cave now? If what you say is true, then we can take advantage of this one month period and train in there for four years. We can attain a lot of fighting experience and maybe even gain the healing ability that Tenten has."

"Um... That would have been a great idea but... it isn't possible anymore," said Lee. "When I brought Tenten inside the cave, I violated one of the rules. You see, I'm not allowed to bring anyone there who doesn't share my blood line. If I do, that's the last person I'm able to bring there. When we exited the cave to return to the leaf village, the entire cave collapsed. Tenten was the first and last outsider to enter that cave."

"Darn... it could have been so useful," said Kakashi. "But I'm curious. You said that no one is allowed in there except those who share your blood line. So, what ties does it have to you? And why only those of your flesh and blood?

"Well, that cave was the first home of the entity who started my clan, many, many years ago," he replied.

"Entity? You mean un inhuman being?" asked Neji.

"Yes. The entity had no name but was referred to as the Iron Monkey," said Lee. "The Iron Monkey was a god in human shape, but with a monkey tail, who knew no rival in the fields of taijutsu. He lived thousands of years ago and probably would still be alive today, but he fell in love with a mortal woman. Those two conceived a child and were happy. The thing is, being a god, the Iron Monkey is immortal and can't age. He watched as his wife aged right before his eyes but he felt as though he loved that woman with all of his heart. So, he trained his child, a son, to be a master of taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu. When the son was old enough and mastered those crafts, the Iron Monkey passed down his powers to his son but tweaked it a bit."

"What do you mean tweaked his powers?" asked Gai.

"The heart and soul of the Iron Monkey is pure and righteous but he didn't trust the hearts of mankind. He knew what dangers we're capable of, so he stripped himself of his immortality and his ability to use ninjutsu and genjutsu. He didn't want his future generations to misuse his immortality and walk the world with the powers of a god. After that, he passed down his soul as a deity, so that only his soul as a mortal remained in his body. Because of the powers that he removed from himself, his son's ability to use ninjutsu and genjutsu was stripped from him and also wasn't able to gain the immortality that his father once possessed. However, the son did get everything else. Eventually, the original Iron Monkey died, along with his wife, but his son lived. Before the Iron Monkey died, however, he told his son of a secret cave where he was born, but told him to never allow anyone inside who didn't share their blood line. He also told him to allow only the person who will become the next Iron Monkey, to train in the cave, so he may gain the quick healing power."

"Since then, it's been a tradition among my clan to pass down the powers of the Iron Monkey to one individual, every few generations. Although the following Iron Monkies, after the original, aren't immortal, their healing ability extends their life span. Every person who trains in the cave of the original Iron Monkey, has their life span extended to up tp 500 years. I guess that means Tenten isn't dying with the rest of you guys," said Lee.

"The rest of us? What about you? Aren't you going to die of age like Neji, Gai, and myself?" asked Kakashi. "And where is this so called family of yours now? From what I recall, you've been an orphan since you were born. I've never seen any of your family members in your records."

"I was getting to that. Anyway, the clan that the Iron Monkey started, derived from the last name of the woman that he married. You see, he has no known name, or at least no one in my clan knew his name. The clan name was Hanazawa."

"The Hanazawa clan..." said Gai. Lee and Tenten turned to him. "My grandfather's sensei was someone from the Hanazawa clan. He told me that they are a clan of powerful martial artists. They can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, but they have a unique and passive kekkei genkai that allows them to gain tremendous power after healing from a fatal wound that an opponent causes on them. But that clan has long been extinct, because one man from their clan slaughtered them."

"That's correct, Gai-sensei, one man did slaughter them all. This man was the current Iron Monkey, at the time, and possessed powers that no one else in the Hanazawa clan had. You see, his pregnant wife was captured by an organization of assassins. They told him that the Hanazawa clan was growing much too powerful to be allowed to live. They figured that since the Iron Monkey is of the Hanazawa clan, he possesses their kekkei genkai. And because he is the Iron Monkey, he has trained in the cave of his ancestor to gain the ability of rapid cellular regeneration. They told him that if he wanted his wife back, he would have to slay his entire clan. He was reluctant at first, because his wife told him not to, but the assassins also threatened to stab the pregnant wife's stomach, which would kill the baby. The man instantly agreed and slaughtered his clan. When he went back to get his wife, the assassins betrayed him and slashed a wound on the woman's stomach. Even with the wound, however, the child survived."

"Enraged, but unable to do anything else at the moment, the Iron Monkey fled from that village with his wife and their unborn child. The assassins were sent to find him and eliminate him, as well as the woman and the child. The Iron Monkey hid his wife under the oak of a large tree, where she gave birth to a baby boy, and died because of the slash wound and loss of too much blood. Before the woman died, she gave her husband the name of the baby and told him to protect their son from anyone who would go after him because of his family name. The man buried his wife along with the rest of his clan, in the Hanazawa village. Then, he went to the village that he was born in, but didn't grow up in. He was born there, 400 years ago but grew up in the village of his ancestors. He left the son in that village, in hopes that his son could start a new life. After that, the Iron Monkey destroyed the assassin organization but didn't return to his son. He could face him because of his terrible actions."

"The people of the Hanazawa clan often regarded the Iron Monkey as their god, even though the ones that came after the original are actually capable of dying. The Iron Monkey couldn't face his son, and so didn't join him in his home village. His son lived the life of an orphan, while he wandered the world for a while. He was about to join his son, a couple of years later, but knew that he was getting old. And so, the man retreated to the cave of the Iron Monkey and waited countless years inside until his son was able to meet him at a proper age, and while he was still fairly young," said Lee, almost to the verge of tears. Tenten knew that the story would bring up old memories and embraced him in her arms. She didn't want old wounds to reopen, but it was necessary. These three have to know. After about a minute, Lee pulled away from her, redness gone from his eyes. All was silent for a while until Kakashi decided to speak.

"Interesting story... but how do you know all of this? And what about your clan?" he asked.

"Oh, that's right... I did forget to mention that part," said Lee. "I know all this because the man who saved me from the fall... is my father, Hirameki Hanazawa, the previous Iron Monkey."

"Your father?" asked Neji. Lee nodded as he turned to his sensei. Gai sighed to himself, hoping that Lee could think of him as his father figure. Although not his son, Lee was able to attain a special place in the man's heart. But now that he knew of his father, would Lee think less of him? Lee looked up to his sensei and smiled at him, giving him the look that told the man that everything was going to be alright. Gai embraced his student. Lee hugged him back. When the too pulled away, they gave their signiture, thumbs up, pose to each other.

"But if he's the previous Iron Monkey... and you're the son he's been waiting for..." Kakashi trailed off, putting the pieces together. When everything was set in his mind, he couldn't believe it. "That means... you're..."

"That's correct, Kakashi-sensei," said Lee. "The name that this village gave to me, the name that I was raised to believe was my true name, is Rock Lee. But the name that my parents gave to me, the name that first came out of my late mother's mouth before she died, and the name that my father gave to me before he returned to being a wanderer is... Kira Hanazawa. And to finalize your second thought, yes. I am now the Iron Monkey, and because of the collapse of the cave, I am the last Iron Monkey."

"The last? Why?" asked Neji.

"Well, it's because, the rites of transfer can only be done in the cave. And plus, every Iron Monkey has to have the blessings of the cave, not to mention the quick healing ability. Without the cave, I will not be able to pass my clan's power to any future generations," he explained.

"Lee, or should I say Kira?" asked Gai. "So you're this Iron Monkey fellow, huh? What does it feel like to be a god?"

"Just call me Lee, Gai-sensei. I'm not too used to my original name yet. Secondly, the original Iron Monkey was a god, and I'm not. I have all of his powers except his immortality and his ability to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, so that does mean that I'm capable of dying, but not so easily. I'm more of a demi-god, actually. There are only two ways I can die. One is through aging and the other is... well, I can't tell you that. That is a secret known only to the Iron Monkey. Even Tenten doesn't know of my second condition for death. I'll tell you now though, there's a better chance for me to die of age than dying by this second condition," he said. Kakashi, Gai, and Neji, all nodded.

"So, because you trained in that cave, you are capable of rapid cellular regeneration, correct?" asked Neji. Lee nodded. "And because of your kekkei genkai as a member of the Hanazawa clan, you get stronger every time you heal from a fatal wound. I see, so that's how you've gotten so strong. You trained in that cave for 10 years, got stronger from training but something else. Your father almost killed you several hundred or thousand times and allowed your healing ability to heal those wounds so you would gain unmeasurable strength, right?"

"Pretty much. But hey, I can still feel pain, you know. I just get over it quickly. And also, since I trained in the cave for 10 years, and Tenten was only in there for one year, my healing ability is much more potent than hers. The moment I am injured, the wound closes almost instantly. From what you saw in Tenten's fight against Kankuro, she had to wait a good couple of seconds before her wounds closed. The explanation for that is, my healing ability heals both my internal and external body almost instantly. Tenten's healing ability heals her internal injuries first, before moving on to the external injuries. And, she heals a little slower than I do," he explained.

"Even so, it's still very fast and a very useful trait to have when in danger of death," said Neji. Lee and Tenten nodded. "A passive healing ability that requires no chakra or hand signs, the ability to get stronger every time you heal from a fatal wound, and the ability to mimic any physical techniques done to you. Talk about being overpowered, but then again, you are a demi-god after all. I suppose I should be able to understand."

"Hehe... Iruka-sensei said something like that too," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Everyone who was in the main hall of the tower, knows about Tenten's healing ability but apart from you guys and Tenten, Iruka-sensei is the only one who knows about my origins and why I was gone from the village for two and a half months."

"I see, and according to what Neji said, you can mimic physical techniques done to you?" asked Gai. Lee nodded once more.

"The healing ability can be achieved by training in the cave of the Iron Monkey. The kekkei genkai is exclusive to the members of my clan, and as for the muscle mimic, that comes with the title of the Iron Monkey. Sadly, my body can only remember the technique once. After I use it, my mind still knows how to do it, but my body will not. Still though, I was able to copy one of Neji's jyuuken style attacks and use it against him," he said. "By the way, please keep my origins a secret to yourselves. It's bad enough that Orochimaru knows about me. I don't want to endanger anyone else that I care about. I'm not sure if there are still people out there who have grudges on the Hanazawa clan, but if there are, they'll most likely target you guys and I can't let that happen."

"Our lips are sealed," said Gai as he looked down to his female student. "But we have one more thing to take care of. Kakashi and I have to visit Tenten's parents and let them know of her ability. Those are direct orders from the Hokage himself. We also have orders to forbit that information from ever leaving their mouths. The Hokage just wants her parents to know the situation of their daugther, and perhaps find out of they have a hidden kekkei genkai in their family."

"But this healing power that I have is exclusive only for me. No other member of my family has it," she said.

"I'm aware of that, Tenten, but the Hokage isn't. We also need to take a blood sample from them and bring it to the medical shinobi squads to have them examine it to see if there is anything within their blood that we haven't yet included in the records about your family. After the medical shinobi squads realize that there's nothing new, they have orders to simply place in your records that only you have that ability. Expect to hear from them soon though," said Gai. "I'll try to dissuade them from doing so but I don't know how much I'll be able to do. Don't worry though, if they make you do something that you don't want to, you have my permission to pummel them down."

"Thank you, Gai-sensei, but I hope it won't have to come to that," she said.

"Alright Gai, I think we should get going to Tenten's family," said Kakashi. "I have other things to do with my life and I'd like to get this thing done as soon as possible."

"Yeah, alright. Tenten, you should come with us. Your parents need to know of your abilities from your own mouth, not ours. I don't think they'd believe us anyway," he said. Tenten nodded. Gai turned to Neji and Lee. "Neji, you should return to the Hyuuga manor and make use of the one month reprieve that the Hokage has given you, Lee, Tenten, and the rest of the other finalists. As for you, Lee, the Hokage wishes to see you in his office. It regards the new friend you made from the sound village. Dosu is already there, waiting for you."

Lee nodded. Tenten turned to face Lee and gave him a brief kiss to the cheek before leaping down from the monument with the two jonin. Neji did the same, a couple of seconds later, returning to his home. When they were all gone, Lee made his way to the Hokage's tower. He wondered what was going to be Dosu's status in the leaf village. During their fight, Dosu said that his family were all dead and that he was the only one left alive. Dosu actually possesses the same dilema that Lee has with him being the last son of their family, except his father, but he wasn't present at the time. Dosu also asked him if he could be instated in the leaf village as a genin, where he could start a new life. Orochimaru had no further use for him or his squad, and he just wished for clean slate. He also said that he would provide them with crucial information regarding Orochimaru's plans, should he be instated to the village. Lee knew he wasn't lying, that's for sure. When he arrived, he allowed himself inside and bowed to the Hokage. Dosu was sitting on a chair, in front of the Hokage. There was an empty seat beside him, perhaps prepared for Lee. Said genin approached the Hokage.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked. Sarutobi nodded and placed his pipe down.

"Yes Lee, I do. Please sit, as we have much to discuss," he said as Lee nodded and sat down on the chair, next to the sound shinobi. "Dosu has made a deal with me. In exchange for crucial information about Orochimaru's plans, he wants to be made an official shinobi of the leaf village, which does mean erasing his records from the sound village. Information on Orochimaru's attack would indeed help us greatly, but I am the Hokage and I have to take consideration the safety of the village that I swore an oath to protect. That's why I've waited for you before making my decision. Dosu says he's established a decent friendship with you and I need your opinion. Should I proceed with the bargain?"

"Yes sir. Dosu is an excellent shinobi and will be able to greatly aid us against whatever Orochimaru has planned. And plus, I know when people are lying and I know that he has pure intentions. I recommend Dosu to be instated as a shinobi in the village hidden in the leaves," said Lee. Dosu smiled through his mask as Sarutobi toyed his with beard, contemplating on Lee's answer to his question.

"Alright, I trust your judgment, Lee, but there is one problem. I'll need Dosu's records," he said.

"I don't understand what the problem is, lord Hokage. If you need his records, then allow him to provide it for you," said Lee.

"That's the thing, Lee, Dosu doesn't have them. Normally, one would need their paper work to register for the chunin exams, and Dosu did have that. The thing is, I need his original records to be retrieved from the sound village so they will have no proof that he ever existed in there, and therefore will not be able to start a war with us," he said.

"War?" asked Lee. "Why would there be a need for war?"

"I can answer that, lord Hokage," said Dosu. Sarutobi nodded. "There may be a war because the sound village hates the leaf village for reasons unknown even to me. Our village leader seems to have a problem with the leaf village and has told us to attack them on sight. The only reason why my squad and I haven't attacked anyone from the leaf village, is because we weren't ordered to. This is the chunin exam and if we attack the leaf, other neighboring village who are allied to the leaf, will come to their aid. The village hidden in the sound, being a fairly new village, don't have very many shinobi. We would get wiped out very quickly if a war was to commence," said Dosu. Lee nodded in understanding as he looked to the old man. Just then, something clicked in his mind.

"If the sound village hate the leaf village, yet you're requesting for Dosu's documents... oh no. Am I to understand that you want me to infiltrate the sound village, undetected, and steal Dosu's documents?" he asked. The old Hokage smirked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. That's the only way for him to ever become a shinobi of this village," he said as he leaned closer to Lee. "You don't have to do this but if you don't, I cannot allow Dosu to become a leaf shinobi. This is an A rank mission, possibly an S class because not a single one of our shinobi have any records or information about the sound village. I would ask my ANBU squads to do it, but for obvious reasons, I refuse to do so. If you really want Dosu to be on our side, then it will have to be you who accepts this mission. Besides, with the way you performed in your fight against Dosu, in the preliminary rounds, I suspect that you'll do fine. So what about it? Do you accept?"

Lee nodded. "I do, but I have only one request."

"What is it?" asked the Hokage.

"I wish to take someone with me. Infiltrating an entire village, no matter the size, will be difficult and I may not be able to handle it on my own," he said.

"Let me guess, you wish to take Tenten?" he asked. Lee nodded. "That's fine. You'll probably meet her in her family's house along with Kakashi and Gai. I've sent for them to pay her family a visit, with her, and explain to them of Tenten's healing ability. I only wish for them to be aware of it, in case Tenten hasn't told them yet. If I had a healing ability like that, I probably wouldn't tell my parents either, for fear of their reaction, but I believe that they have the right to know. As for Dosu, he will wait in this room with me, for security reasons, until your return. You may leave now or in three days. I will tell the village guards to open the gates and allow you to pass when you to leave the village when you are ready. I wish you luck on your mission, Lee. I hope for your safe return."

"Thank you, lord Hokage," he said as he stood from his chair and bowed to him. He looked to Dosu and smiled to him. Dosu nodded as Lee left the room. When he was out, Lee zipped from rooftop to rooftop, going to Tenten's house. He had only been there once but already knew the way, despite the massive size of the village. He wondered what Tenten was up to now, and how her parents would be taking the news. Technically, Tenten will be living for a very long time until her natural death, 500 years later. That's the fate of anyone who trains in the cave of the Iron Monkey, as well as the one who becomes the Iron Monkey. Whatever danger that's going to take place, he would have to defeat it within the course of his life time. Because the cave is no longer accessable, future Iron Monkies will no longer be possible. Not only would he be the last son of the Hanazawa clan, but he is also the last of the Iron Monkey line. Lee increased his speed until he arrived at the designated location.

Lee nodded to no one in particular, noting how the large house looked exactly the way it was when he was last here with Neji and Gai-sensei, so long ago. Although being in a family of blacksmiths, Tenten was pretty well off. Her family's business of crafting and delivering shinobi weapons and accessories exploded and attract many customers, several years ago. Since then, her family has been selling shinobi materials to the other villages, earning them not only money but respect from the village leaders. There was a fountain in the back yard and front yard, large fishes inhabiting a fairly large lake, located in the front yard as well, and several sculptures of shinobi and kunoichi figures, also in the front yard. Lee had seen the insides of her house before, but never actually stepped foot. He would have to retrieve Tenten so they can start their mission, so going inside would be a necessity. Lee walked up to the front door and knocked a couple of times. A few seconds later, a woman dressed in a black and white maid outfit, opened the door.

"Please state your name and business," she said.

"My name is Rock Lee and I'm here to speak to Tenten," he said. The maid nodded.

"Please come inside," she said as Lee noddded too and entered the place. He looked around the place, taking note of a lot of expensive items, paintings, more sculptures, and other decorations that lay around. He could hear talking from the other side of the house, possibly the back yard. He had only seen that place once, and that was with Neji, when they decided to spy on Tenten's training, about a year ago. The maid motioned for Lee to follow her. He nodded and allowed her to lead the way. As they walked through the rather large property, Lee took the time to look around the place, wondering if he would be coming there more often because of his current status with Tenten. When Lee and the maid arrived outside, Kakashi, Gai, Tenten, and her parents were seated, talking and drinking some tea. Tenten noticed Lee's arrival and introduced him.

"Mother, father, you two know Lee, right?" she asked. Her parents nodded.

"Yes, but we've only seen him once," said her mother, standing from her chair to examine the boy. "He looks different from when he was last here. His shinobi outfit looks stunning, is he a chunin or a jonin?"

"No, mother, he is still a genin like me," she replied.

"I see, well then, welcome back to our home, Lee," said her mother. Lee bowed to her with respect. Tenten's mother giggled and sat back down. "Kakashi and Gai have told us what you have done for our daughter. You made her strong and even allowed her to obtain an ability that will save her life countless times in her path as a kunoichi. For that, you have my deepest and most sincere gratitude."

Lee nodded. "I would do anything to keep her safe and make her happy."

"Thank you Lee, but what exactly do you mean by that?" asked her father. Lee's eyes averted to Tenten, who was looking at him strangely. It was then that Lee realized that Tenten hadn't told her parents about them yet. Tenten caught on to Lee's thoughts and gulped. She stood next to Lee.

"Mother, father... I have something else to tell you and I hope you won't get mad at me for it," she said.

"Will it explain those glances that you were giving Lee earlier?" asked Gai.

"Glances?" asked her father.

"I wonder if it will explain that kiss from earlier," Kakashi mentioned.

"Kiss?!" her mother exclaimed. Tenten nodded and wrapped Lee's arm with her own.

"Lee is my boyfriend," she said.

"BOYFRIEND?!!?" her parents both exclaimed as they fainted. Lee sighed to himself and looked to Tenten. He wanted to meet his father again and tell him about Tenten, but after seeing the reaction with Tenten's parents, he wasn't sure that he wanted to anymore. It was at that time that he remembered about the mission that the Hokage was sending him to and that he needed her to accompany him.

"Tenten," he said, gaining her attention.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The Hokage is sending us on a mission. I'm going to explain the details to you but not here. All I can tell you is that it will be an A rank mission," he said. Tenten narrowed her eyes at him, aware of the fact that only jonin and ANBU could take A rank missions. Kakashi and Gai looked to each other, wondering what the Hokage was thinking now. Both jonin wondered if it had anything to do with that Dosu kid.

"Perfect timing. Why don't you two run along now? Gai and I will take care of the rest from here," he said. Lee and Tenten nodded as they zipped out of the house, appearing a couple of blocks away from Tenten's house. When they were out of curious ears, Tenten looked to Lee.

"So what's the mission about?" she asked.

"Do you remember Dosu of the sound village?" he asked. "He requests to become a shinobi of the leaf village, no longer wishing to serve Orochimaru the village that hates him for the powers that he possesses. But the only way to do that is to steal his documents from his village."

"Steal documents?" she asked, trying ot piece the two clues together. When she finished, her eyes widened. "You aren't serious..."

"I am," he nodded, confirming Tenten's deduction. "We're going to steal Dosu's documents from the village hidden in the sound."

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There goes another chapter. I'm sure you can all guess what's going to happen in chapter 14, so I won't say anything. Just because Lee and Tenten possess power that no ordinary ninja has, it doesn't mean that their mission will be a breeze. Don't forget that even as a demi-god, Lee life, in this story, belongs to me. I control his fate and whether he and Tenten pass or fail, is all up to me. Bwahahahahahaha!!!

*removes darth vader mask*

Anyway, I'll see you guys in the next chapter of the Legend of the Iron Monkey.

Ja ne!


	14. Chapter 14

Legend of the Iron Monkey

Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own a single shred of Naruto.

Chapter 14:

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Lee and Tenten met up in front of the village gates, ready for the mission ahead of them. Gai asked to come along, but the Hokage had forbidden him from coming, saying that more than two people on such a mission may endanger the entire squad. The two leaf ninja packed only the required necessities, planning to returning in a few days. Dosu gave them the entire layout of the sound village. According to him, the documents of every shinobi would be located in the Otokage's tower. He also said that the Otokage leaves his room, twice per day, to take a stroll in the academy and lecture a bit. The time it takes to get there and back was roughly an hour and a half, giving them an adequate amount of time to steal the needed documents. Dosu also asked for them to take Kazu and Kin's documents, as he would try to persuade them to become leaf ninjas as well. For accepting the mission, Dosu revealed a small portion of Orochimaru's plan, and would reveal the rest upon the success of the mission. He said that the sound village was mobilizing for something, of what, he didn't know. He also said that his squad only entered the chunin exam to test the limits of Sasuke's cursed mark. When they were ready, Lee and Tenten approached the guards of the village gates.

"Hello, you must be Lee and Tenten," said one of the guards. Said genin nodded. "I was given orders by the Hokage himself to open the gates for you to start your mission. He told me that it is an A rank mission. You two are either fortunate or unfortunate. I say fortunate because this is the first time genin get to go on an A rank mission. Unfortunate because you're going into a village in which we don't have information on. I do hope that you two will return safely. I've heard much about you both from other genin who have seen you walking through the streets."

"Thank you. We'll try not to disappoint you," said Tenten. The guard nodded and made a signal to the shinobi guards above. They nodded and had the gates opened for the two genin. Tenten and Lee smiled at the guards and sped off. According to Dosu, the distance from the leaf village to the sound village was a good seven day trip, and that was with sprinting and taking minimum brakes. It was really Kazu and Kin who took the breaks, as Dosu could pretty much run for at least three times the distance, with his ability. Lee looked to his girlfriend, allowing his eyes to wander. Although they are together now, there were still hormones and feelings that he was feeling while around her. Perhaps it's because he was getting older and actually had someone with the opposite sex to lean on. Of course he didn't see Tenten like that, but as a young man, the urges are there and are difficult to ignore. Tenten caught sight of him, his eyes trailing around her body.

"Lee... was that my butt that you were staring at just now?" she asked. Lee's eyes widened and looked away, feeling enough shame to flood the whole leaf village. No way he was just doing that, but it's true. He didn't know what his body was telling him, as no one educated him on this part. The academy didn't prepare him for this, for these feelings, and how to properly deal with them. He blushed hard, unable to look at her. Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Hey, look at me. I'm not mad, just curious," she said. Lee slowly turned to her.

"I'm really sorry, I don't know what came over me. I just turned to you... and started looking... and well... never mind," he replied. Tenten giggled.

"Don't worry. I know it's really early into our relationship to be thinking of such things but I don't mind if it's only you who is looking. To tell you the truth actually, I've been stealing a few glances myself, when you were training in the tower of the forest of death. I saw my share and you didn't complain," she said, blushing like crazy. She bit her lip to stop herself from thinking any more of such nonsense thoughts but couldn't help it from entering her mind. "You know, I'm at the midst of my teenage years. According to everyone else' eyes, I'm one year older than you and also have raging hormones that are hard to control. I think it's okay to act this way around each other, but we have to know our limits."

"Yeah, you're probably--" he stopped, slowing his running speed to a walk until he stopped running completely. Tenten stopped as well and walked back to him. Lee looked like he was scanning his surroundings as if there was something there that was invisible to the eye. Tenten was about to talk when Lee placed a finger on her lip. "I could swear I heard a twig snap. It came from behind those trees."

Tenten removed his gloved hand from her mouth and looked around her. There's nothing around except trees and other animals. It's probably just animals that Lee heard, and nothing more, but in the world of the ninja, anything can happen. The kunoichi pulled out a kunai and a couple of shuriken from her pouch. Lee took out his customized kunai blades and gripped them tightly in his hands. He moved closer and closer to where he heard the twig snap, Tenten edging right behind him. Lee jumped inside the bush, only to find a snapped twig. He sighed and was about to leave, when he noticed how the twig was broken. He picked it up, noticing that it was broken right from the middle of the body. No animal can be that precise, so can't be any of these forest animals that are living out here. Lee continued scanning around him. It was just at that time when he noticed a couple of figures falling from the trees. He looked to Tenten and nodded, who sensed the same thing. Both genin moved out of the way and saw two shinobi with an odd outfit but a familiar looking forehead protector. It had the same symbol as Dosu's gear. Before any word could be spoken, Lee sensed a lot of chakra signatures nearby, and they didn't feel familiar at all.

"We are hidden leaf ninja, doing a routine patrol around the village. State your name and business," said Lee, raising his kunais. Both shinobi noticed the leaf symbol on the black-coated shinobi's forehead protector, which was tied around the neck. The kunoichi next to him also had a forehead protector with the leaf symbol but tied around her left arm.

"My friend and I are chunin from the village hidden in the sound, and we were just on our way to the leaf village because we heard that the final round of the chunin exam was being held within a month," said a sound shinobi. His partner nodded.

"That's odd. How would you know that when that information was just divulged to us today?" asked Tenten.

"Oh, that's because the jonin teacher who's in charge of one of the squads who participated in there, has a friend from the leaf village, who told him the events and schedules of the chunin exam. Being a jonin of the leaf village, that man knows how the chunin exam goes. He told the sensei in charge of the sound ninja squad that I mentioned earlier and that sound jonin relayed that information to us via carrier pigeon. This information came to us last week, giving us enough time to get here," he said. Lee narrowed his eyes at him, able to hear the fast-paced beating of the man's heart. Either he was included in extreme physical activity or he's telling a straight and utter lie. He didn't look like he was breathing hard, but he was sweating from head to toe. The Iron Monkey smirked, this guy isn't a good liar.

"I see, that's a good reason. So, would you mind telling me what's with that shinobi army behind you?" he asked. Tenten was a bit surprised and nudged Lee.

"Play along," he whispered.

"Yeah, my partner and I saw that huge army from behind you. Mind explaining what they're for?" she asked. Both sound shinobi looked to each other, hoping that one or the other had a good excuse to escape from the current situation. These two leaf shinobi must be part of the ANBU squad that they heard so much about. The jonin of the sound warned them of how cunning the ANBU of the leaf village was, and their sources were right.

"Um... those guys huh?" asked one of the sound shinobi. "Uh... they're just bodyguards because we came here with a few land lords of our village and um.. you know.. protection is hard to come by these days, right?" he asked. Lee raised an eyebrow, completely disbelieving what he just heard, which was about to give the two sound ninja a panic attack. They knew that their skills were no match when it came to ANBU class shinobi. The ANBU would rip them apart and feed their limbs to sharks, and that would be a frightening experience. Lee wondered what it was that these two were hiding. It was just then that he remembered something. When he saved Anko, in the forest of death, from Orochimaru, the snake man's forehead protector harbored the same symbol as these guys... the mark of the sound. Slowly but surely, Lee was placing the puzzle pieces together. When the finished puzzle was seen in his mind. One word appeared in his mind, which explained Orochimaru's plan and why there would be so many sound ninja in one spot.

Dosu's information was right, after all. The sound ninja really were mobilizing and now he knew what for. The sound village was going to launch a surprise attack on the leaf village. But the real question is... when? If they do it now, the leaf will retaliate and there are hundreds and thousands of shinobi in the leaf village. Forget skill level, the sound ninja will get throttled with mere numbers alone. There has to be a proper time in where they could launch a preemptive strike and not have to worry about getting wiped out. Besides, even with a perfect strategy, the amount of chakra signatures he sensed earlier probably numbered in the hundreds, no where near matching the onslaught of the leaf village numbers. There's always the possibility that more will be coming, and that would definitely fix the massive balance problem. Suddenly, the leaf genin thought of something. If the sound ninja were mobilizing and would be headed for the leaf village, village hidden in the sound would be unprotected and would give him and Tenten the opportunity to find those documents and quickly return to the leaf village to warn the Hokage and the others. Lee cleared his throat.

"Oh really? Is that it?" asked Lee, closing his eyes and smiling at them. He faked a laugh, which managed to fool the two sound ninja. Tenten wondered what in the world had gotten into her boyfriend, but decided to ask later. "I'm sorry for troubling you two. Go ahead and enter the village and enjoy the final round that will be held next month. Now if you gentlement will excuse me, my partner and I have more patrolling to do."

"Good luck to you both!" said both sound shinobi as Lee and Tenten vanished. The two sound ninjas sighed and collapsed on the ground, unable to believe their luck. Lee and Tenten appeared about half a mile from where they used to be and continued their sprint to the sound village. Tenten looked to Lee, who seemed to be deep in thought. He knows something that she didn't, and if there was one thing that she didn't like in a relationship, next to lying and cheating, it's keeping secrets.

"Lee, what just happened back there?" she asked. The black-coated genin snapped out of his thoughts and turned to his partner.

"The sound is mobilizing to attack the leaf," he replied. Tenten's eyes widened in shock. That's huge news, but there's no proof. Then again, Lee wasn't the type to joke around about such things, and she knew that from first hand experience. "But we can take care of that later. They won't attack the leaf village any time soon, as they lack the man power. I sensed an army of sound ninja, somewhere in the back, and like I said before, that amount isn't nearly enough. The leaf village is rumored the have the strongest shinobi army, out of the five major shinobi villages."

"So... you're telling me to wait until the sound village has enough shinobi to overwhelm our home?" asked Tenten, anger rising. She couldn't believe he would ask her of such a thing. She was born and raised in the leaf village and he was telling her to wait? The kunoichi ceased her sprint and tugged on Lee's arm "Lee, what's wrong with you?! The leaf village is where our friends, family, and memories, reside. Now you're asking me to wait until the sound has enough to launch a surprise attack? I'm sorry but I can't go along with that plan. I'm going back to warn the others. You'll have to go on this mission without me."

"Tenten... I didn't mean it that way," he said.

"I don't care how you meant it!" she shouted. "I don't know who this sound genin is to you, but in basic summary, you just told me that his freedom from his village is more important than the lives of our family and friends. From what you said just now and the fact that you're not warning the village, tells me that I made a horrible mistake in falling in love with you. I don't even know you anymore."

"Tenten, please be reasonable," said Lee, already on the verge of tears. His heart was breaking by the second, and he didn't know what to do. He wasn't worried about the village at all, as he warned the Hokage about Orochimaru even before the chunin exams. He knew that the old Hokage must have been taking matters into his own hands and has been working in secret to thwart whatever Orochimaru has in store for the leaf village. He wanted to follow Tenten back to the village and tell her how wrong she was, but he couldn't. He made Dosu a promise that he would retrieve the documents, and promises must never be broken. That's what he learned from Naruto. In an attempted to stop her from leaving, Lee placed his hand on her shoulder. Tenten swatted it away, taking him by surprise. She crashed an uppercut on his jaw with her fist, sending him a couple of feet into the air, and back-kicked his chest, causing his body to be propelled through a tree.

"Don't you dare touch me, Lee. I don't know who this Dosu is to you, but he's your friend, not mine. My concern is the leaf village," she said. Lee looked up to her, trying to get the fallen tree off of his body.

"Tenten, they'll be fine. Don't underestimate the shinobi of the leaf," he said. "They'll pull through, I promise."

"Perhaps, but maybe it's you who shouldn't overestimate them. With the element of surprise in the hands of our enemies, they don't need numbers. I know where my loyalties lay... so where does yours?" she asked.

"My loyalties are with the leaf village and no where else, but you have to trust me. They'll be fine, I know they will. I've already warned the Hokage about this, even before the chunin exams. You don't need to go back. Just finish this mission with me and we'll be back at home in no time," he pleaded. Tenten scoffed as Lee stood from the ground.

"Do you really think I believe you right now? There's no possible way you could have even known about any of this until at least during the chunin exams. You are endangering the leaf village just by leaving, just because you made a promise to an outsider. What's more important to you? A promise to a sound ninja, or a promise to your friends and family in the village?" she asked.

"The village of course, but Tenten please... I made a promise and I refuse to break it. Don't you remember what Naruto said in the written portion of the chunin exam? He never goes back on his word, that's the way of the ninja. I believe him and I also believe in the leaf village. You have to trust me on this one," he said. Tenten shook her head and closed her eyes. She turned around and opened them, setting her vision back to her home.

"I fell in love with you once, big mistake. It won't happen again."

"Tenten... please don't," he said, tears already running down his eyes. But she didn't give a reply as she zipped.

Lee was about to run after her but ceased his movements, feeling something that he'd never felt before. His heart had broken and it hurt so much. His healing ability wasn't making things any better, but why should it? He had just lost the love of his life, but he knew that he still had a promise to keep. Battered and bruised from the inside, Lee continued his way to the sound village. As if losing a part of himself, he reached for the hood on his back and hung it over his head. He removed the leaf village forehead protector from his neck and placed it in one of the pockets on his coat. There should be more sound shinobi who should be making their way to the leaf. So why not trim their numbers as they come? Lee pulled out the staff of the Iron Monkey and stretched it to a good seven feet. He needed to get some anger out, and what better way to do so than to break some bones? As he made his way to his destination, his senses started picking up more chakra signatures, just before him. He smirked and stood his ground. Three by three, sound shinobi were appearing before him. Lee looked to them.

"A traveler?" asked one of them. "Step aside and maybe we'll spare you from our onslaught."

"Really now?" Lee replied darkly. "And just what are you guys up to? There's so many of you that I think you're about to invade a village. And from your direction, I'd say that it's the village hidden in the leaves, correct?"

"What's it to you, shit head?" barked a sound ninja, revealing his shuriken.

"I suggest you keep the bad language to yourself, if you know what's good for you. I'm in a really foul mood today," he warned.

"I'll show you a foul mood!" shouted the sound ninja as he launched his body to the black-coated genin. In a dark blur, Lee slammed his staff on the man's head, successfully crushing his skull to bits. The man oozed blood from his mouth and also from his ears. Lee shoved his staff down the man's torso, spilling more blood, and lifted it to the sky. He pushed the body off of his staff. Lee waited until the body fell to his level and kicked it to the crowd of sound ninja. A sense of relief filled the young genin, when he did that. He never knew why leaf ninja were taught not to kill, and up till now, he still didn't know. It felt quite good and he wanted to do it again. The other sound ninjas looked to the body of their comrade, and then looked to the black-clad shinobi before them. Because he had a hood on, they didn't couldn't see his face, but it was as if his aura was burning a black color.

"That felt pretty good. I don't mind doing that again," he said as he ran to the sound ninjas. One by one, he engaged them in close quarters combat. They all fell against him, but he didn't just defeat them, he murdered them. They shouted, but their screams of pain fell on deaf ears. No one could spare them from the fury of one very pissed leaf genin. There was so much blood everywhere. The bones and internal skeletons of the sound ninjas' corpses were actually showing. Lee was careful not to get any stains on his coat, but couldn't really help the case with his staff. The last sound shinobi who remained alive from the assault, looked to the corpses of his once living comrades. Their limbs were ripped apart, their flesh was twisted, their insides were torn, and their blood filled the air. He was taught to kill, but not in this fashion. The young man that just did this, he's not human. His strength and speed rivaled that of the gods. Something must have twisted this boy, but of that, he didn't know. Before another thought could pass through his mind, Lee jammed one of his kunai blades through the man's throat and ripped it out from the top. The leaf genin sighed.

"It's over already? Darn... oh well, I'll just take out the rest of my rage on the sound village," he said as he tilted his head to the direction of the leaf village, remembering Tenten. "You know what, Tenten? I've really got to thank you for breaking my heart. If you didn't do that, I wouldn't be pissed enough to do this, and it feels so good."

Lee pulled out his water bottle and used that to wash the blood from his staff and his kunai blades. Noticing that there was actually some left, he drank it all down and returned it into his coat. He couldn't leave any evidence that a leaf ninja was responsible for this and the water bottle actually had the mark of the leaf, on the cap. He retracted his staff and returned it to his sheath. The blood of these losers are unworthy to meet his sacred staff. Since it was Tenten who awoke the beast within him, it's only right that he used the very weapons that she forged for him, back in the cave of the Iron Monkey. He traced his fingers along the sharp ends of his kunai blades, smiling at the thought of killing more with those weapons. He figured that killing is bad, but then again, he was doing a service to the leaf. He told himself that he would just kill until he got his anger out, not wanting to further disgrace his ancestors. Lee nodded to himself and continued on his path to the sound village.

Lee continued to massacre every sound shinobi that came his way, each one having a different and more gruesome death than the last. Lee didn't even feel bad for what he was doing. The only thing that was crossing his mind was the fact that he was doing a service to the leaf village and getting rid of his rage. He knew that he wouldn't be the same after he made his first kill, but he didn't care anymore. Tenten was his life, and now that she didn't even want anything to do with him, what else is there to lose? She didn't say it officially, but he knew it for sure. They had broken up, so nothing really mattered to the boy anymore. As he continued killing, it didn't even bother him anymore. At first, it felt good, but he was receiving a bit of a guilty conscience in his head. But now, it didn't even matter to him. He just slew whoever got in his way, but made sure to kill only sound ninjas and other people who came close to even being a citizen of the sound village.

Normally, it would have taken an average shinobi about half a day of non-stop sprinting to get to the borders of the fire country, but Lee was still no where near it. Each wave of sound shinobi that came to him, all fell to his wrath. He didn't even stop to let them speak of their intentions. Good or bad, he would just rip their insides out, stuff them down their throats, and allow them to die that way. There was even one sound ninja who was unfortunate enough to be killed in a very horrible way. Lee grabbed the sword of one of the sound shinobi who fell to him, and stabbed it through another. He ripped a hole in that man's chest, pulled one of his rib bones out, and placed his arms around the half dead man's heart. From there, Lee crushed it, causing tons of blood to come out from the man's mouth. Fortunately, there was a river on the way, where Lee washed the blood from his coat. It's a good thing that it was made of soft leather. If it was cloth, like his first and second outfit, the red stains would never come off. There was a lot of red color, flowing down the river, and Lee merely smiled at it. He sighed to himself and pulled out a scroll from his coat. He unrolled it. It was a map to the sound village, from the leaf village, made by Dosu.

"Hmm... sheesh," said Lee, scratching his hooded scalp. "I'm no where near the place and it's been at least two or three hours since Tenten left me. Oh well, I better pick up the pace then. And seriously, I've got to stop pulling people's hearts out and crushing them in my hands. Tenten did that to me... technically... but I suppose even these guys don't deserve that kind of death. I think I'm way too lenient with my killing," he said as he exhaled a sigh and rolled the map and placed it back in his pocket. He unsheathed the two swords that he obtained from one of the sound shinobi who he killed. It looked kind of neat, having a pretty nice exterior design. Both were katanas, and had a fine silver color on the blade that seemed to shine under the sun. There were engraved characters on the blades. One said "Shadow" while the other said "Flash." Lee raised an eyebrow in confusion. Why would a sound ninja be carrying swords with cool engravings like these? He shrugged his shoulders and sheathed them. Luckily, there were two belt holes on the back of his coat. He placed both sheathes there. The odd thing was, it was a perfect fit, which sort of surprised him a bit, but didn't care after a while though.

"Well, better get going," he said as he continued on his way. He decided not to destroy the village hidden in the sound, as his anger was pretty much gone. There were other sound shinobi who got in his way, but he only crippled them to the point where they wouldn't be able to move, however, spared their lives. The most common cases were where he shattered the knee caps of the sound ninjas, so moving wouldn't be possible. There were a few times when he would just completely break their wrists and hands so they wouldn't be able to perform any jutsus. He figured that this would be good for his staff, as he didn't want the relic of the Iron Monkey to be drenched with anymore blood. He wasn't killing them like he wanted to, but he knew that he was only killing to let out some steam. Actually, a string of regret was flying around him. He had just disgraced his ancestors. He was apologetic about the whole incident, and even thought of himself as a hypocrite for telling Neji not to kill, when he himself took so many lives. He sighed to himself as he continued his way.

__________________________________________________

After seven days of traveling, Lee eventually arrived in the village hidden in the sound. He was hidden under some bushes as he gazed at the village. It looked kind of like the leaf village, but a little bit smaller. There were two shinobi guards, posted on both sides of the gate, probably of chunin rank. No doubt, there would be other guards on top of the gates. The only way to get inside would be to zip there, undetected. It's a good thing that he waited until night time to execute his plan. His black robes would be a great help in sneaking inside. After making sure his hood was secure, he zipped from his spot, landing right on top of a building. He looked around him, careful not to attract any attention. It was a bit odd that there weren't much guards around, but that's probably because he killed off or incapacitated most of them. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at his map again. According to the parchment, the Otokage's office would be a couple of blocks from his current location. He placed the map away and proceeded to his destination. * (A/N: #1- see below for information) *

When he made it inside, he was rather surprised that even this place wouldn't have any guards. A bit disappointed for the lack of action, he entered the place. The building itself wasn't the huge but when he went inside, there were hallways that looked like the they could go on forever, kind of contradicting the size of the building. Remembering from the map, the Otokage's tower was supposed to be a maze of sorts, designed with powerful genjutsu to keep away those who didn't know the way. But Lee knew that way, thanks to Dosu. There were two secrets and the first one was within the first and fourth letters of the word that the whole village was named by, sound. The second clue was the amount of steps one can take as according to each letter, using the alphabet. When Dosu was explaining it to him, back in the village, he was a bit confused, but now understood it. The first letter of "sound" is S and is the 19th letter in the alphabet. According to Dosu's rule, Lee would have to take 19 steps going south. The fourth letter of "sound" is N and is the 14th letter in the alphabet, which means 14 steps to the north.

"Well, here goes," he said as he took his 19 steps south. When he finished that, he took the next 14 steps going the opposite way, north. When he turned around, he was face to face with a door with the word "Otokage" on the front. He smirked at his accomplishment and looked inside. It looked similar to the Hokage's office, with a lot of papers on the desk and the shelves nearby. Dosu said that if he was sitting on the chair, the documents of ever shinobi in the sound village would be on the second cabinet, going down, on the left side. Lee checked that cabinet and found a very large folder with a lot of papers. According to the table of contents, the names are in alphabetical order. He searched through the letter D and the letter K, eventually locating the documents that he needed. He took the information papers, folded them, and placed them in one of the pockets in the internal area of his coat. He placed the folder back in the cabinet to hide his evidence. Before he exited the office, two sword stands caught his eye, on his right.

The first one was an empty stand with only the sheath there. There was a tag on the bottom that read "Kusanagi." Lee rolled his eyes, wondering what that meant. According to the historical teachings of the academy, the Kusanagi is a legendary sword, found by the god of the storm, Susanoo, after saving a woman from a serpent-like dragon named Orochi. It was then given to a powerful warrior, who's name he had forgotten. Lee sighed in disappointment for the second time that day, hoping that the sword would be there too. The second sword stand had a sheath this time, but no sword. There was also a name tag below. The sword was called "Souseiki." Lee placed a finger on his chin. If translated by Japanese language, wouldn't that word be called Genesis? Just then, he remembered the two swords that he found earlier, from a sound ninja. He pulled the swords out and noticed how they were glowing. He looked to the sheath and saw that it was glowing as well. He looked at the tag, wondering if there is anything else on it. He looked to the bag of the small paper and saw a phrase. He read the following:

"Destruction brings forth new life," he said to himself.

What in the world does that mean? He shrugged to himself as he put the tag back where it was. There are better things to do than fiddling with these little clues that the Otokage probably got from a Chinese fast food restaurant's fortune cookie. Yeah, that had to be it, as the phrase on the tag sounded like something that would come from a fortune cookie. Secondly, the swords were quite heavy, at least for ordinary katanas. Lee threw them on the ground and heard them snap. He shrugged his shoulders again and was about to leave when he saw the ground glowing. When he turned around, it wasn't the ground glowing, but the broken swords. Lee watched as the broken blades floated and merged with the sheath, creating an illuminating light. It should have blinded him, but he found his eyes immune to the light. He didn't know if it was because of his healing power that was fixing his eyesight as fast as it broke, but that was probably it. When the glow was gone, the sheath was floating in a horizontal position. There was something different about it though, there was a black hilt and handle where it wasn't before. Lee looked around him, hearing voices, but he saw nothing. Was the sword calling out to him? He nodded and took the sword with both of his hands. The sheath glowed again for a second, with a white light, and then faded.

The young genin pulled the sword from the sheath and saw a katana shaped sword, but it was different from all the other swords that he saw in his life. Instead of the silver metal where the blade should be, it was a katana shaped sword with a white glow. The other thing was, it weighed like nothing exactly like his staff, but how was that possible? Could it be made with the same material as the staff of the Iron Monkey? And what about the white glow? What's up with that? So many questions were entering his mind about his new weapon, but he couldn't answer them. Wondering how strong the sword was, he slashed at the Otokage's table. For a moment, it looked like nothing happened. But a second later, the table collapsed. Lee noticed that not even saw dust was left on the cut part of the table. He whistled to himself and sheathed the weapon.

He was about to put it on his back, where he placed the two swords from before, when a bit of curiosity hit him. He knew that he would just heal from it, so it shouldn't be that bad. Lee pulled the weapon out once more and looked at the white glow of the katana. It looked so beautiful, he just had to touch it. He pulled the glove off of his left hand and stretched his index finger out. Once he touched the tip of the weapon, he felt a cut from his finger and saw some of his blood going on the sword. He pulled away instantly as his finger healed, but that wasn't what caught his attention. The sword began glowing red for a few seconds, before resuming to its former white glow. Lee didn't know what in the world just happened there, but decided not to delve into it as he still had a mission to complete. He placed it on one of the handles where he placed his two swords before. As Lee walked out of the office and out of the tower, he smiled at the knowledge of obtaining such a powerful weapon, the Souseiki. During his prancing around, a guard spotted him.

"Hey you! You don't look like a sound ninja or a citizen! Who are you?!" he shouted. Lee froze in place and cursed at himself for being so utterly careless. He turned around slowly and smiled at the man, noticing that his hood was removed. He wondered when his hood was removed, and why it was so, but that's a question for another time. The shout of that one shinobi, attracted others. Soon, Lee was facing against a good 20 or so of them.

'This isn't good...' he thought to himself. He was about to run out of there, but he figured they would just go after him. He was about to pull out his staff when his sword shook from his back. Lee reached for it, unsheathing the weapon. The other ninjas backed away, not knowing what in the world that was. As if moving by instinct, Lee raised his blade and swung it down. When a cut was made in the air, a sonic wave of black and white color was created and launched to the crowd of shinobi. All of them were cut horizontally, as well as a few other buildings that were unfortunately behind them. Lee stepped forward and examined the bodies, noting that there was something missing. If they were cut, where's the blood? He looked at the cuts of each one of them. It was definitely red, so where's the blood that should be coming out? He looked to his weapon. Could the blade be so hot that it evaporated the blood as it cuts the body? Lee whistled at it for the second time.

"Crafty..." he said as he sheathed it again. As he made his way to the village gates, the guards saw him and launched some projectiles at him. He was about to dodge them, when the Souseiki appeared in front of him, blocking the shuriken and kunai that were coming his way. As he watched for more, the Souseiki started revolving around him and created three other replicas of itself. Lee took the real one, as the three shot themselves into the hearts of the guards who attacked him. Lee's mouth formed an oval shape as he looked at his sword once more. "That is so awesome..."

Before Lee placed the sword back in its sheath, he wrapped a white bandage on the base of the handle, so he would be able to tell which was the real one next time without just guessing. He sheathed the weapon and stormed out of the village. As he ran, he noticed how quiet the village was. The few remaining sound ninjas were probably the ones that were stationed around the leaf village. Thinking about it, he realized that there weren't that many at all. On his way to the sound village, he remembered killing only two groups and incapacitating one group. Both groups probably only had a good 15-20 people. That's a lot, but shouldn't there be more? Perhaps he miscounted, but didn't care. He also wondered about that Kusanagi thing and pondered on whether or not he would see it up close. According to legend, the Kusanagi harbored a blue glow on the blade, much like the white glow on the Souseiki. Lee imagined having those two swords with him, in battle. It would truly be awesome. Lee increased his speed to the point where he was moving at the speed of sound.

After running for a good few hours, he noticed that the sun was rising. As he continued his travel, he noticed a glimpse of brown when he passed by a bush. He stopped his run and returned to the spot. The brown blur was there, but it was moving. He knew that it couldn't be the bark of a tree, as trees don't move. When he took a closer look, he couldn't believe what he saw. There were sand shinobi but what were they doing with sound shinobi? They were sleeping in futons and tents, why weren't they attacking each other? Isn't the sand allied with the leaf? Lee's eyes widened in sudden realization. The sand couldn't be allied with the sound... could they? If so, then the leaf village would be in danger. Although the leaf had a better quality of shinobi, the sand was rumored to have the largest army in terms of quantity. Their shinobi weren't bad, but the leaf ninjas were better. Lee backed away and doubled his speed back to the leaf village. This can't be, why would the sand betray the leaf for the sound? Could Orochimaru have threatened the sand? That's possible. But if so, why didn't the Kazekage just call the Hokage for help? So many questions, so few answers, but he knew he definitely had to get back now. He thought that it was just the sound who was going to attack, but if the sand was in on it too, that would cause a large problem.

He trimmed down the numbers of the sound by a good amount, but knew that if they had the help of the sand, a couple hundred isn't even worth too much. The quantity of the sand's army would fill in the gap that he destroyed, and fill it with so much more. Lee increased his speed even further, turning a seven day journey into a seven hour one. The leaf village's survival would be determined if he could arrive in time to warn them and help them. He sounded so sure of himself when he told Tenten that the leaf would be fine, now he wasn't so sure. Perhaps she was right all along, and an apology would be needed. He hoped that he could even arrive in time to perform an apology. She was right, the whole time. As the scenery passed by him, he hoped that he wasn't too late. But what if he was? He was wrong about the invasion, consisting only of sound shinobi. So what if he was wrong about the invasion hour? What if they attacked right when Tenten was just returning? She should still be alive, right? As strong as she is, she still has limits. Lee was now running faster than the speed of sound, but at the speed of light. He wouldn't allow his friends to be killed. He still had to beg Tenten for her forgiveness.

When he arrived at the leaf village, he jumped over the gates. Moving at an insane speed, none of the guards even saw him. He made his way to the Hokage's tower and stopped running to catch his breath. Normally, he shouldn't be tired, but running at the speed of light for hours can really wear someone down. Fortunately for him, his healing ability activated, shortening his heavy breath needs, significantly. When his lungs were in proper working order, he sighed to himself and opened the door. The Hokage looked up at him, as well as Dosu, who was simply relaxing on a chair. The Hokage raised an eyebrow at Lee, who looked to be a little short on breath and pretty sweaty. The sweat was almost impossible to see because of his black, leather coat, but the old man could see it from his face. Lee stepped forward to him and gave him the documents that would give Dosu, Kazu, and Kin, their freedom from the village hidden in the sound. The Hokage looked them over and nodded.

"Good job, mission accomplished," he said as he placed the documents to the side. "I'll get to these in a bit, but I'm curious... how did you get them so fast? Isn't the trip from here to the village hidden in the sound, a one week trip? Coming back should be another week, so how are you back one week early?"

"I ran... fast," said Lee, his breathing returning to normal. "But there's a few things I have to tell you. However, before that, one question. Tenten returned here, right?"

"Yes she did," he said, nodding. "She came in a hurry and told me that a group of sound shinobi are mobilizing for an attack, and were stationed just outside the village. I told her that I knew this because you told me about a week prior to the chunin exams. This gave me a proper amount of time to warn the ANBU squads, as well as my entire jonin and chunin staff. She seemed rather surprised at my answer. Do you know why?"

"I'm really not sure, but on to more important matters. The reason why I returned so fast was because I saw something that I wasn't expecting. I told you about Orochimaru, and you know about the sound village's attack. But what I found out is something that may surprise you, as it surprised me as well. I think that the sand village shinobi are going to attack along with the sound," he said.

"What?! Impossible... where did you come across such a claim?" asked the Hokage.

"I was running back to the village, after I retrieved the needed documents, when I saw tents and futons in a clearing, a few trees to the side of where I was running. Sand and sound ninjas were stationed there. Some were sleeping, while others were patrolling. The sand is allied to the leaf, so I don't know why they weren't attacking the sound. My claim could be wrong, as I don't have any more information, but please consider what I said," Lee pleaded.

"Yes, I will," said the Hokage, massaging his chin. "I've noticed that the sand village has been rather quiet and it has been bothering me for a couple of months now. I didn't think much about it, until I heard what you have just told me. It may be just a claim, but it explains a lot. If they were being quiet in order to mobilize their army, then this war is going to get bloodier than I thought."

"I have that feeling as well. The sand village is said to have the largest shinobi army, in quantity. Our shinobi are better, but are fewer in numbers by a near significant amount. That being said, I have a request that I'm hoping you can allow," he said. The Hokage nodded. "I would like for you to withdraw me from the last round of the chunin exam."

"What? Why? You're one of the brightest candidates who have a large chance of winning. You would be throwing away your only opportunity to be promoted into the next rank. Will you really sacrifice such an opportunity? The next chunin exam may not be similar to this year's," he said. Lee nodded.

"Be that as it may, other opportunities will arise. My gir-- um... friend once asked me where my loyalties lay, after we engaged in a verbal quarrel. I know that my loyalties lay in the safety of the leaf village, and that's what I'm going to prove. I'm willing to sacrifice my opportunity of becoming a chunin for the safety of this village. This is my home, lord Hokage, and I would rather die than see it fall apart," he said. Sarutobi was taken aback by such words. Never, in his service as the Hokage, had he seen anyone with so much love for his village. Many have told him that they would protect the village with their lives, but no one ever made such a sacrifice. Lee obviously knew that he could probably be promoted into a chunin easily, but he was giving up that opportunity to help and protect the home that he grew up in. A great shinobi, valiant reason, and a worthy sacrifice... such traits were indeed worthy of the title of chunin. The old man shook his head. No, these traits are worthy of something more than just a chunin. He would have to remember that for the future.

"Alright, I will allow this. I remember nine people who would be participating in the final round. Please tell me, if you remember, who your opponent was supposed to be. I'll match that person up with the one who was supposed to get a free pass to the second match," he said.

"The one I was supposed to fight, is Tenten. And the one who was supposed to get a free pass to the second match, is Shino," he replied. The Hokage nodded as he pulled out the sheet of paper that Ibiki used in order to plan the fights. He also grabbed a pen and crossed out Lee's name, placing Shino's name there instead. He nodded again and placed the paper away and started applying the proper information that needed to be applied, on Dosu's documents, as well as that of his squad. Lee turned to his friend and smiled at him. He was now free. Dosu bowed to him.

"Thank you so much. I don't think anyone has ever been this nice to me," he said.

"It's not a problem at all. That's what friends do, right?" he asked.

"Friends... yeah, I guess you're right," he said, shaking Lee's hand. When the Hokage was finished, Dosu took the papers. "I've already told Zaku and Kin of our plans, and they both agreed to it, seeing as though Orochimaru betrayed us. They agreed to help the leaf village in the war."

"Dosu, before you go, take these," said the Hokage as he threw him three pairs of forehead protectors with the mark of the leaf in the center, as well as a piece of paper that was taped on the metal part of the forehead protector. Dosu took one of the papers, wondering why they looked like coupons. "You'll need these if you want to walk around the village as a leaf shinobi. The chunin and jonin class shinobi, know of the sound's attack and may question you on sight. And you may wish to obtain a new set of clothes at a local cloth store. Those coupons attached to your new forehead protectors will allow you to go to any clothing store. I've already sent word to them to expect a sound shinobi or a sound squad, to be visiting them in the future. Trade those coupons in for a set of any shinobi clothing that you would like."

"I... I don't know what to say," said Dosu, bowing to the old Hokage. He turned to face Lee afterward. "Thank you so much. We are forever in debt to the leaf village. But mostly to you, Lee. Thank you for making this possible. I don't know when the sound or sand, or even both, will attack, but know that you will have my aid into this."

Lee and the Hokage nodded as Dosu bowed once more and left.

"Thank you Lee, again, for this new bit of information. I will summon the chunin, jonin, ANBU, even the hunters, and tell them of our updated situation. Since you won't be participating in the chunin exams and seem to have incredible skill, would it be too much for me to place you into an ANBU squad?" he asked. Lee blinked twice, jaw dropping on the floor.

"Are you kidding me?" was all he could say.

"I'm very serious. For your determination of protecting the village and for your sacrifice of further taking the chunin exams, I feel that I should award you with this. Not only that, but you're a very exceptional shinobi. Your skill and heart are all in the right places," he said. Lee couldn't believe it, he was going to be an ANBU. What a transformation indeed! Being an ANBU would allow him the freedom of leaving the village, any time he wished, either to partake in higher leveled missions, or just to go sightseeing. He was about to accept, but realized that ANBU class shinobi are supposed to wear the classical ANBU uniform. He didn't really want that, as he was growing to be rather attached to his black coat and overall outfit. He wanted to keep the title, but still also keep his current outfit.

"I... I would be honored, lord Hokage, but I have one minor request to that," he said. "I wish to retain the title of ANBU, but also wish to remain with my current shinobi outfit, as I perform in my best while wearing it. I'm aware of the fact that all ANBU have to wear a certain outfit, and I'm not sure if I wish to part with my outfit. Is there any way around this?"

"There isn't, but maybe I can offer you with a different rank. It's in the same league as a jonin-ANBU, just a different title and slightly different responsibilities. I was going to give you this title, but I wanted to know if you were interested with the rank of ANBU first, as we need more of those, but it's really your decision. The title that I'm thinking of is Hunter. Hunter class shinobi are able to take missions that ANBU take on, but they have one job that is different from ANBU. Whenever a shinobi goes rogue, and leaves the village, it's the job of the hunter to track them down and make sure that the secrets of the village don't leak out to the outside world. But they travel alone. They don't have a squad to travel with, but they can wear whatever they like, as long as they wear a special mask that signifies their title and rank as a hunter. Do you wish for this rank?" he asked.

Lee thought about it, looking away for a while at the ground. If it would give him the same leeway as an ANBU would, and would allow him to retain his outfit, then he was up for it. But that would mean that he would be removed from Gai's squad, as well as being parted from Neji and Tenten. But perhaps things would be better this way. He wouldn't have to worry about them and take missions where he could travel alone. The downside is, he might have to attend an academy that is special for hunters. He would definitely have to learn how to properly dispose of a corpse without revealing the secrets of that dead shinoi. When he finished thinking, Lee looked to the Hokage and nodded.

"I accept this title, lord Hokage," he said. Sarutobi nodded and pulled out a rather large sheet of paper with red marks on it. The red marks looked like names, but spelled out in Japanese characters. The old man turned it to him.

"This parchment holds all of the names of the shinobi from the leaf village who become hunter or ANBU class shinobi. In order for you to be granted the title and rank as a hunter ninja, you must sign this parchment with your name, using your own blood," he said. Lee removed the glove on his left hand and pulled out a kunai. He pricked his finger and was about to write his name, when his wound healed instantly. Sarutobi's eyes widened and was about to comment on it, when Lee looked at him, which was enough to silence the old man for a while. Lee looked around him and pulled a blank sheet of paper from a stack of other papers. He took his kunai and inserted it into his finger and kept it in there, allowing blood to seep down on the paper. When there was just enough, Lee pulled the kunai out and allowed the wound to close. He dipped the tip of his index finger into blood, and wrote his name. When he needed more, he dipped his finger again. When he finished, there was a bit more blood than he thought. He crumpled the paper, with his blood, and threw it away. Sarutobi nodded at the signature and rolled it, placing it back where he found it. As he reached for a hunter mask, he spoke.

"So, is that healing ability like Tenten's?" he asked. Lee nodded. "I see. Kakashi and Gai already came in here and told me about it. Your healing ability now ensures me that you will do well as a hunter. You're still young and maybe not having a squad may scare you a bit, but I know now that you will survive long enough for you to attain the experience you need to get used to the feeling."

The old man handed Lee a thin, concrete, white mask, that seemed rather light, and was big enough to cover the entire face, from forehead to the chin. The mask had a string that was tied to both sides, to keep it on. It was definitely heavier than his staff and the Souseiki, but not too bad. The mask also had green and blue streaks on the sides, as well as two holes where the eyes can see. Other than the streaks and the two small holes, it looked like a pretty ordinary face mask. It seemed to fit right on his face, perfectly, which placed a smile on his lips. He couldn't believe that he was now one of the top shinobi in the village. His dream was coming true, but celebrations should be held for later. He still had to prove to the Hokage, and possibly everyone else, that his title wasn't just given to him for free. He wondered what Gai-sensei would say. Technically, he outranked his own sensei now. He also wondered what Neji would say. The Hyuuga is definitely one of the many who didn't think he could get anywhere, but Lee would prove him wrong. The old man smiled at him.

"Congratulations Lee. And since you're a hunter now, you can wait here while I take care of some things, before I call my shinobi staff, minus the genin of course. And since you're of a rank that is above the chunin level, whenever you see a white bird flying in the sky, in a circular motion, that means I'm calling for you. Normally, people don't see that, but you get used to it. If you don't see it within a certain amount of time, I'll just call for some other chunin or something to get you. There aren't many hunters in the leaf village, so you'll have to prove your worth to them. You're the youngest, but I'm sure you'll do fine. You're rather tall and very skilled for a 14 year old, so maybe that would fool them," he said.

"That's alright, lord Hokage. There's something that I have to do anyway," he said.

"I see, then you're excused. Depending on what time I finish my paper work, will determine when the meeting will take place. For future reference, this meeting will be some time today. Perhaps you can tell other shinobi of your new rank, but don't go showing off. I don't want to have them think that I just promoted you into a hunter because I'm drunk or something," he said. Lee smiled and nodded. He placed his mask on and placed his hood back on, before he vanished in a puff of smoke.

"That boy... he's an interesting one alright..." said the Hokage as he returned to his paper work.

__________________________________________________

OYAS!! Chapter 14 is done and turned out better than I thought. I have nothing to say this time, except to tell you all that the next chapter won't be posted for a while because I'm going on a vacation and won't be writing for about a week or so. Thanks everyone!!

Ja ne! 


	15. Chapter 15

**Legend of the Iron Monkey**

**Naruto Fanfiction**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a single shred of Naruto.**

**Chapter 15: Seperation**

As Lee walked down the streets of the leaf village, he noticed that people were getting up to start their day. People were walking out of their homes, setting up their shops, getting ready for the day and... looking at him. The Hokage was right after all. There really aren't that many hunter shinobi in the leaf village, but why is that? Could it be that there aren't very many leaf shinobi who go rogue, or would even think about going rogue? That's possible, as Lee knew that many of the leaf shinobi are actually trustworthy. Sure there was that case of Mizuki, a chunin who pretty much went rogue, but didn't really succeed.

There are probably others, but perhaps way before his time as a hunter. He really couldn't believe that he was promoted so high up in the shinobi hierarchy. From his studies, the hunter ninja is often respected just as much as an ANBU is. Very few times had he ever seen a hunter in his life. He figured that they didn't want to be seen. He nodded and leaped to the top of the buildings, choosing to travel that way. During his morning walk, he saw two shinobi who were on top of a building just across him. It was Kakashi and Gai. He wondered if he would still have to call them sensei... He watched as they competed.

"Rock, paper, scissor!" they both shouted. Didn't they play this game before? Last time, it ended up with Gai-sensei losing. And this time, Kakashi actually lost.

The silver haired jonin sighed and dropped to the push up position, attending to his loss. Lee was about to walk away, when Gai saw him. He sighed and figured it would be rude to walk away from someone who saw him. Lee zipped and appeared right next to Kakashi. Both shinobi had already seen his outfit, and were surprised when they saw his hunter mask. The hunter mask and the ANBU mask are different. All hunter masks have green and blue streaks, not on the same spots, but those colors. ANBU masks harbored colors of different kinds of animals, normally only one section of that animal, not the whole portrait.

When Kakashi finished his push ups, he looked to the new hunter.

"Well, isn't this a surprise... is that you, Lee?" asked Kakashi. Lee nodded and showed his face. He removed his hood and allowed his mask to hang on the upper right corner of his head, but not enough so that it would block his vision. Gai smiled at his pupil and shook his hand. "When did you become a hunter? This is definitely a surprise."

"Just today, actually. As for how, I'll keep that a secret. I don't want to boast until I've proven my worth to you guys, Kakashi-sensei," he said.

"You have nothing to prove to us, but only those who haven't seen your skills yet, especially your hunter colleagues. And as for the sensei title, you don't really need to call us that anymore, since you pretty much out-rank us both. Then again, we can't really call you a sensei, since you've never been in charge of a genin squad before. I'm not sure hunters ever get the chance to be in charge of a genin squad, but nevertheless, congratulations," said Gai.

"Thank you both," said Lee, as he placed his mask and hood back on. "And Gai-sensei... erm... Gai, I guess this means I won't be in your squad anymore."

"Yes, that appears to be the case," he said. "But don't worry about it. I'm proud of what you have become and won't regret letting you go on your own. It takes more than just skill to become a hunter. So whatever it was, the Hokage must have thought it was a large enough feat to grant you your status. By the way, have you talked with Tenten yet? She came back from a mission, about a week ago. At first she had a very serious face, but when she walked out of the Hokage's tower, she was in tears. I tried to talk to her about it, but she wouldn't say anything. Did anything happen to you two?"

"Oh... that..." said Lee, looking away for a while.

Why would Tenten be crying? Wasn't she the one who was enraged with him in the first place? Besides, when she told him that she didn't love him anymore, and that it was a huge mistake, she seemed very relieved. Could Tenten have regretted it? Lee knew that he still loved her, but wasn't ready for another such heart break. That was one of the reasons why he chose to be a hunter, instead of an ANBU.

However, the main reason was because of the outfit differences that both types of shinobi required. Perhaps he and Tenten could be a couple again, but not so soon. His heart needed time to heal first, and his healing ability wouldn't really help. His heart wasn't literally damaged, but it still hurt. Maybe they could at least be friends. He wondered how Tenten would take that reason. He looked back up to his former sensei.

"I'll have to talk to her about it. Anyway, it was nice seeing you two," he said as he waved to them and zipped. He arrived down on the ground, feeling a bit of hunger in his stomach. He placed his mask and hood back on and decided to go for something else besides ramen now.

Since he was no longer a genin, simple food like ramen shouldn't be what he was putting inside his body. Lee noticed a restaurant and instantly recognized it as one of the finest restaurants in the village. It is owned by the Akimichi clan, just like all the other fine restaurants in the leaf village, and is probably a good place to stop for some food. Normally, quality places like these would be packed with people and would often be very expensive. He pulled his wallet out, which still had a bit of money in them. He would have to get some money later, by doing some missions, but for now, his stomach wanted food, and that's what it was going to get.

He entered the restaurant and walked up to the clerk.

"Wow, a hunter," said the female clerk complimented, blushing slightly. "We don't get much of your kind around here. What will it be for this morning, sir?"

"I'll take the all-you-can-eat sirloin, three bowls of rice, a bowl of brocolli, two glasses of water, and a side order of strawberry cheesecake," he said, looking to see if he had enough. After some mental calculations, he pulled out the necessary amount of money.

"Wow sir, that's quite a feast. Will it be just for you or some friends maybe?" she asked.

"Just me. I have a pretty good appetite," he replied.

"I can see that, sir," she said as she calculated the prices. "The total is 3900 ryo."

Lee nodded, giving her the exact amount. Lee waited for his food for a few minutes and was then escorted to a table where a waitress would come by and provide him with all the sirloin that he could ever want. It was the all-you-can-eat special after all. Lee raised his mask up and placed it at the upper right hand corner of his head again, where it used to be, a minute ago. He dug into the sirloin and immediately entered heaven. It was so good and so juicy that his mouth started to water. The Akimichi clan truly knows their recipies, it's amazing!

As he ate, the scent attracted one very familiar shinobi.

Lee's eyes moved to the left, seeing Choji literally floating to the scent of his sirloin. Seriously, what's up with this guy? His family owns the place, so shouldn't he be getting all the meat the he wants anyway? Lee hoped that this wasn't a regular for all customers who ordered some juicy meat. Choji's mouth began to water. Because he owned the place, he would just pay the man back. He was about to take some, when he noticed a mask on person's head. Choji's eyes widened and backed away a bit. Shikamaru and Ino appeared next behind him.

"Oh my god... it's a hunter, you guys," said Choji. Shikamaru and Ino saw the mask and backed away as well.

"I'm so sorry for my friend here," said Ino, bowing to Lee. Lee was hardly able to contain his laughter for much longer. "Sometimes he just can't control himself when he smells someone's order. Don't hurt us, please."

Lee stifled a laugh and turned to face them.

"Why would I hurt you guys? Come on, pull up a chair and have some sirloin!" said Lee, as he continued his breakfast.

Team Asuma froze in shock. Wasn't Lee a genin just like the rest of them? When did he get promoted, and what did he do to get the promotion? Asuma, wondering what was taking his students so long, walked over to them. He noticed that they had their mouths open very wide, looking at a hunter ninja. Sure those guys are high in rank, but they're no one to fear... as long as they're on your side. At first, he didn't know why his students were frozen, but a few seconds later, he realized why.

"Lee?" he exclaimed.

"Hey Asuma, good morning. Why don't you and your squad join me for breakfast? I ordered an all-you-can-eat sirloin special. There's plenty to go around for everyone," he said. Asuma fixed his position and bowed to the higher ranked shinobi, even though he was just a genin before.

"I'm not going to ask how you became a hunter, as I know the Hokage has his intentions so, congratulations," he said as he pulled up a chair.

He shook his students awake, who pulled up some seats as well. As the food entered Choji's mouth, more of his strength returned to him. After a few seconds of recovering, Shikamaru didn't care too much, but Ino was still pretty surprised. Whenever Lee would pick up a sirloin, he would notice that they were all gone. There were times where he could get only one, but that's it. Shikamaru whacked his friend on the head for eating so much. Lee chuckled.

"Don't worry about it, Shikamaru. I did off to share, didn't I?" asked Lee, digging into his rice and brocolli.

"This is amazing. What a promotion!" Asuma exclaimed. "But as a hunter, that means you won't be taking part in the chunin exams anymore, right? And what about Gai? Have you visited him yet? He was your squad leader and I think he deserves to know that his star pupil won't be in his squad anymore."

"I have. Actually, he and Kakashi-sensei... I mean Kakashi, were the first people that I saw today. I'm so used to calling you guys sensei that I can't seem to get rid of the habit. Gai told me that since I actually out-rank you guys, I don't need to refer to any of you using that title," he said. Asuma nodded and smiled. It's amazing that one of the genin actually attained such a rank, but the question is how? He knew that his father couldn't be drunk, as he doesn't drink until around nightfall.

"By the way, when did you become a hunter?" asked Shikamaru.

"About half an hour ago, I'd say," said Lee, looking to the ceiling in order to recollect his thoughts. The lazy genius nodded.

"That's really cool, Lee. I bet Neji and Tenten would be jealous," said Ino. Lee smiled as he drank some water. "Oh and, have you gotten a chance to talk with Tenten today? Asuma-sensei said you were on a mission that would last a couple of weeks but I guess he's wrong. Since you came back today, I'm going assume that you haven't talked to her yet, but have you? She seemed really sad when all of us girls got together, two days ago, to hang out."

"No, I haven't spoken to her yet," Lee replied. "I was going to go and look for her but today is a Saturday. She doesn't get up to train until a few hours later, in the afternoon. And, I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon. My stomach was grumbling and well... here I am."

"Well, at least you can control your eating habits. I wish Choji could do the same," said Ino, glaring at her chubby teammate. Upon hearing the insult, Choji ceased his eating. Ino immediately regretted it as Asuma and Shikamaru sighed. Lee looked Choji, who seemed to be sulking. He then glanced to Ino.

"He can't help it. Don't you know that the Akimichi clan gets their strength from devouring massive quantities of food? It's not a kekkei genkai, but more of a curse. Their metabolism is actually two or three times faster than the average person, and therefore gets hungry very fast. However, the strength they get from food is also double or triple, as compared to what normal people get from it. Why do you think the Akimichi clan is very strong and never gets full? Food is literally their main source of fuel," said Lee.

Asuma, Ino, and Shikamaru, were surprised if that was so, then why didn't Choji ever tell them? That kind of information would easily silence Ino, as it would give her a different view of Choji. She thought Choji eats just because he wants to and he likes to. But learning about his extremely high metabolism, she now knew that it made total sense.

"Is that true, Choji?" asked Ino. Choji slowly nodded. "Well, that changes a lot of things. You should have told us that earlier. Now I have a different view of your eating habits. I guess this is why you eat so much. You're probably really skinny when you wake up in the morning, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I can show you a picture of me when I wake up. My mom took it for me when I was waking up one morning," he said as he dug down for his wallet. He opened it, took out the picture, and gave it to Ino. Said kunoichi couldn't believe what she was seeing. The photo of Choji didn't look that old at all, and he had muscles on top of his muscles and a rock hard looking six pack to boot.

Forget Sasuke, Choji had all the toned muscles in the world! Although she was only 13 years of age, she found herself drooling. Choji took it back and placed his wallet away as he continued scarfing down the never ending sirloin with renewed happiness. Shikamaru thought about what Lee said, as he remembered Choji's mom and all the other females of the Akimichi clan, as well as some of the males.

"Hold on, what about Choji's mom? She has a pretty good figure, as well as a lot of the Akimichi males. Why aren't they really fat or really skinny?" asked Shikamaru. Asuma nodded at that, all the while wondering why the Akimichi clan never revealed this secret and how Lee knew it in the first place.

"Well, the curse is only for the males. The females actually have a better metabolism that other females in the leaf village, which gives them a great figure, even if they don't work out. Notice the really beautiful Akimichi women who aren't trained in the ninja arts. They have some of the best bodies that I've ever seen. As for males, their metabolism slows down when the reach the age of 18. It's still greater than females, but not so great. Choji's dad is probably still big because he likes the strength bonus that he receives from food. His wife doesn't mind his appearance, or he is really just a big fan of food," said Lee.

"I see," Shikamaru replied, earning a new respect for his friend.

"Anyway, I'm full and I think it's time for me to get going. I still have to find Tenten and sort some things out," said Lee as he drank his water and stood up. "The never ending sirloin special ends in about half an hour, at least that's what it said in the menu. Feel free to enjoy it until it's gone. Oh and, if you manage to find Tenten before I do, tell her that I'm looking for her."

"Definitely, and again, congratulations Lee," said Choji happily. "Oh and, thanks for sticking up for me. Just, don't tell my dad because no one is really supposed to know about that little secret about our family. I don't know how you found out about it, but thanks anyway. I'll find some way to repay you in the future."

"No problem. I'll always stick up for my friends," he said as he placed his mask back on and walked away.

"That Lee..." said Asuma. "I think he'll make a great hunter. Skill and power aren't everything when you become a hunter or ANBU. There are also other factors that are considered, and Lee just showed a valuable example of two of those factors."

"Which one is that, sensei?" asked Ino.

"Humility and companionship," he said. Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji, nodded.

Although Lee and Choji weren't very good friends, more of acquaintances, Lee considered him a friend, and that was enough for the young Akimichi. Perhaps they would be better friends in the future. Lee walked out of the restaurant, feeling really full. He wondered if what he said about the Akimichi clan, was actually true. Since Choji claimed it to be so, it must be. Honestly though, he was just trying to stand up for the poor guy without having to knock Ino out for those names that she would usually call him.

He knew of the names that she would use on the young Akimichi, from time to time, and didn't like it. He was already bullied around in his childhood because of his inability to use jutsu and piss-poor taijutsu. He didn't want others to feel the same pain that he felt, all those years ago. He also wondered who he would meet up next.

He could visit Neji and tell him about the news, but he wasn't too keen about being able to walk in there without being invited. His status as a hunter might get him inside the Hyuuga compound, but he didn't want to go that way. There's also team Kurenai, but no way Hinata gets up this early. Lastly, there's Tenten. Her house is fairly close to his current location, so maybe visiting her would be a good thing. He doubted that she would get up and train so early in the morning, but maybe it was worth a shot.

Until the Hokage calls him and the others in for their meeting, free time is in his hands.

He nodded to himself and made his way to the house. On his way there, more people bowed to him. Why does everyone bow to a hunter ninja? Are they really that high up in rank? Some chunin and jonin who passed by, actually bowed to him too. Such an action is something that he would need to get used to. When he arrived, he saw Tenten walking out of her house. Odd, why would she be awake so soon? She saw him and bowed as well. He looked familiar to her, but now wasn't the time for a conversation.

"Good morning, sir," she said, smiling at him and passed by him. Lee turned around and placed his hand on her shoulder. Tenten turned around. "Oh, I'm sorry, but am I in trouble? I'm sure I did nothing wrong so early in the morning."

"You're not in trouble, I just need to talk to you. Do you have a minute or two?" he said. Tenten nodded.

"Yes, I do. But I need to start training because I'm one of the finalists for the final round of the chunin exam. Anyway, what seems to be the problem?" she asked.

Lee looked to his left and right sides, making sure no one else was around. He placed his hand on his mask and dragged it to the upper right hand side of his head, revealing his face. He also removed his hood. Tenten placed her hands over her mouth, unable to believe who was wearing the hunter mask. She thought that since Lee was taking so long, that something must have happened to him. Although the trip from the leaf to the sound, and back is a long one, she knew that he was capable of massive speed, which could actually change the trip from weeks, into hours.

Tenten embraced him hard, but felt that he wasn't hugging her back. She pulled away from him.

"Um... I'm sorry. You're a hunter ninja now and I guess there are special rules to hugging," she said miserably. Lee shook his head.

"That's not it. As I recall, you told me that you didn't want me to touch you," he said calmly. For a second, she didn't know what he was talking about but the memory immediately returned toher mind. She told him that yesterday, which mean he had already completed his mission. Tenten backed away a few steps and nodded.

"Oh, yeah... I did say that, didn't I?" she asked. "Lee, I was just really mad and I didn't allow you to properly explain your reason. Anger just exploded from inside me when I heard your first few words. I should have let you explain your side of it, and I'm sorry."

"It still hurt, you know," he said, closing his eyes and looking away. She placed her hand on his cheek, only to have it moved away by him. That one action surprised her, instantly fearing the worst. Could it be that...

"I'm sorry. Unless we're sparring and you're trying to hit me, I don't usually allow anyone to touch my face except for my girlfriend," he said. It hurt him to say such a thing, but she broke them up already. As much as he hated it, it was over between them.

"Wait, what? What do you mean by that?" she asked, attempting to salvage what she could from their broken relationship.

"From my knowledge, you broke up with me last week. You said that it was a mistake to have fallen in love with me and that it wouldn't happen again. It hurt enough to shatter my heart into a hundred thousand pieces, but I know when something is over when I see it... or feel it. The look in your eyes, you really hated me. I was able to handle all the other things, like the one where you said that didn't believe me. It hurt every time you said those things, but I was able to handle it. Relationships require love, trust, and patience, Tenten," he said.

Tears cascaded freely from the kunoichi's eyes.

"L-Lee, it was just-"

"A mistake too? Probably. But that was the one that hit me the hardest. I didn't expect you to say something like that. I thought you would give me some time to explain what I meant, but you didn't. I know it's only been a few days, but I've had enough time to think about it. Maybe you're right, maybe it really was a mistake to fall in love. I think it was a mistake to fall in love so early into our lives," he said, also starting to develop some tears. "That's why, maybe we should just let go. I won't be in your squad anymore, now that I'm a hunter, and I think that's for the best. We won't be seeing each other as much anymore."

"Lee... not now please... it's too soon for this. I don't want it to end. I'm sorry about everything that I said. Please forgive me..." she pleaded.

"Maybe it's too soon, and maybe it's not. But I'm not a genin anymore, I'll be incredibly busy. I know you're sorry, I understand that part. But I think I need some time to recover. Our healing abilities don't affect the emotional state of our hearts. If it wasn't for the mission to keep me busy, I probably would have just died from the heart break," he said, wiping the tears from his face.

"Lee please, I'm so sorry," she said, tears welling up inside her eyes.

"I know, okay? I know. But I can't handle another attack like that, at least not for a while. Maybe we should just focus on our duties as shinobi of this village. And maybe some day, we could probably meet again and give our relationship a second chance when we're much older," he told her. Tenten broke down into tears, collapsing on the ground. Just as he was about to say a bit more, Lee noticed a white bird, circling in the sky. That's the Hokage, summoning his staff of chunin and above ninja. He sighed to himself, wiping away all of his tears. He didn't want to go there, surrounded by his new peers, with a tear-streaked face.

He knelt down to her level.

"Hey, come on, you can't keep crying like that," he said as he helped her up. Tenten embraced him again, but this time, he hugged her too. This was probably the last hug that they would ever be able to give to each other, at least a meaningful one. Lee pulled away and wiped her tears with his hand. "I need to get going now. I'll see you later, or perhaps another time."

Tenten nodded as he smiled at her and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

She sighed to herself and recomposed her standing point. Lee is right, maybe they would be together again someday. The young kunoichi was going to live for a very long time, due to her training in the cave, and so is he. Five centuries is a very long life time. They would surely meet again. Tenten nodded to herself and walked to the team Gai training grounds. It would be very different, now that Lee is gone from their group. She figured that Neji wouldn't know about the news yet, as not just anyone is allowed inside the Hyuuga compound, even his own squad members.

Lee appeared inside the Hokage tower, where a few high ranked shinobi were already present. Kakashi was actually on time, along with Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma. Lee didn't really get the chance to tell Kurenai about the good news yet, but now isn't really the time for chit chatting. A minute later, hundreds of high ranking shinobi had arrived. Lee noticed that there were only a small handful of hunter class shinobi that were around, at least compared to the other chunin and above shinobi. His colleagues noticed him, but didn't really exchange much words with him, even each other.

They were the strong, silent type, exactly what Lee was comfortable with.

"Lord Hokage, what is the reason for this meeting?" asked Hiashi Hyuuga. "Many of us are very busy, preparing for the invasion. It's enough that we don't know when the sound will attack, but we must also worry about Orochimaru. If he's in the village, then he could be up to one of his tricks again."

"I understand that, Hiashi, but you have all been summoned here for an update on the invasion and I must say that it's terrible news," he said, causing some whispers among the crowd of shinobi."

"I sent someone on a mission to the sound village to steal some important documents. He arrived earlier today with information about the sand's betrayal," he said as the crowd whispered to each other some more. The ANBU were whispering, save the squad captains. The hunters remained silent as well. "My source told me that he saw the sand and sound sharing a camp in the forest far from the border of the fire country. They're on the move and it will only be a short time before their arrival. We still don't know when they are planning it, but knowing Orochimaru, he will choose a time when we have our guards down."

"The sand is in on this too? But that's impossible, they're our allies," said Kurenai.

"I know that, Kurenai, but as you all know, the sand have been quiet for a few months now. My hunch is that Orochimaru probably got to them before they could send out a message for help. I'm worried that he may have killed the Kazekage and some other village lords to cancel the contact with other neighboring villages. Having said this, you must all be careful from now on. Double the security and your own awareness. After all of this is over, we will deal with the sand's betrayal," said the Hokage. "By the way, how are the sound shinobi around the village doing?"

"Squad 17 reported that their status hasn't changed, sir. They seem to be waiting for something, probably the order to attack," said one of the ANBU captains as he stepped forward and knelt down. He wore a white robe, a hood over his head, and an ANBU mask with the design of the bear. "However, squad 9 reported to have seen a single sound shinobi, limping to the others. We don't know what is his condition now."

"Lord Hokage, if I may," said Lee, stepping forward. The squad captain stood and returned to his former position. "On my way to the sound village, I encountered several groups of sound shinobi. Each group ranged from at least 15 to a maximum of 20 people. They seemed to be reinforcements from the sound village coming to aid the small army that is already there. I disposed of them all, but didn't know that one managed to make it back. You have my deepest apologies."

"You took out entire groups of sound ninja?" asked one of the chunin. That being said, more whispers started going around. Lee's hunter colleagues actually looked to him again. Although they were wearing masks, he could tell that they were surprised. "Just who are you?"

"Just your every day hunter. Come on Iruka-sensei, don't you remember my voice through this mask?" he asked.

"Lee?" asked Iruka, disbelieving what he just said.

"Iruka, Lee, you may catch up later, but right now, we have other matters to discuss," said the Hokage. Iruka and Lee bowed their heads. "I trust what you said and that means that the forces of the sand and sound were significantly cut, but I'm afraid it's not enough. As you said before, the numbers of the sand overwhelm ours. The sound is a fairly new village and may not have that many experienced forces, but I won't doubt their skill and power. Were you able to find out anything else?"

"No sir," he replied.

"Alright. With the exception of Kakashi, who I understand has a previous engagement elsewhere, you will accompany Gai, Asuma and Kurenai. Their genin squads should be training for the chunin exams, so they have a bit of free time. I know you outrank them now, but Asuma will be the squad leader. I want the four of you to travel to the fire country borders and see if you can trim down their numbers a bit more. Try not to slay any sand shinobi, but incapacitate them somehow. And if you can, try to bring in one or two for questioning," he said. "If there is nothing else, then you're all dismissed."

The crowd of shinobi nodded and vanished at the same time. Gai, Kurenai, Lee, and Asuma, appeared just outside of the Hokage's tower. They decided to leave immediately and would worry about rations later. There's plenty of food hunt in the forest, so they would resort to that. Gai couldn't believe that his former apprentice was now his senior officer. It would take a bit of getting used to, but Lee definitely outranked them all now. Just like professional leaf ninja, none of them spoke a single word to each other.

Lee maintained his position in the front, Kurenai in the back, while Gai and Asuma were on both sides, but just a bit behind him. This position was famous when traveling in groups of four or more. Being the one with more power out of all of them, Lee was in the perfect spot to parry or block any incoming attack. Gai and Asuma would take care of anything that would surprise them from the sides, while Kurenai worried about whatever was behind them.

"So Lee, what's it feel like to go on missions with the rest of us?" asked Asuma.

"Not too bad. I get to watch you old people get your butts handed to you, except you of course, Gai," he replied. Kurenai and Asuma rolled their eyes. Of course Lee would segregate them from the praises, except for Gai. Even as a hunter, he still holds his former sensei in high regards.

"Well, now that it's just us, why don't you explain how it was that you were promoted into a hunter?" asked Kurenai. Gai and Asuma nodded, a bit curious at it too. Lee himself was unsure of how it really happened, as it all went around so fast. Well, the way from the leaf village to the fire country's border is very far, so maybe a little explanation would be good to pass the time. Also, it's good that his former teachers knew about how it happened.

Everyone who asks him how it happened probably deserved to know anyway. Although not completely of their rank, it's not polite to jump a few ranks above them from a rank far below them and not have to explain how it was possible for a shinobi who is ranked the lowest in the ninja hierarchy. He met up with Gai and Asuma earlier, but didn't tell either of them how he achieved his rank. He hoped that they would buy his story, as unbelievable as it may sound. Even he thought it was too good to be true, but only they could decide now.

"Well, it all started when I accepted a high ranking mission because gave my word to a genin from the sound that I would grant him freedom from the clutches of his village and make him into a leaf shinobi. I know what you guys are thinking, that this guy might be a spy, but I'm telling you, he's not. I can't explain it, but I know that I'm right. The mission was to infiltrate the village hidden in the sound and retrieve the documents and identification that belonged to him and his two squad members."

"I decided to take Tenten with me but after a bit of unfortunate events, she returned to the leaf village, which forced me to continue alone. On my way to the sound village, I came across several groups of sound ninja, who I took down in order to ventilate some anger that I had because of a fight with Tenten. I apologize for shaming your teachings, Gai, but I did end up killing two sound ninja groups, consisting of maybe 30-40 people," he said.

"Don't worry, Lee. Even if you did kill them in cold blood, it was for self-defense. They would have attacked you anyway and you would have been forced to take their lives. I know I taught you to try and not to kill, but you did warn them, right?" he asked. Lee nodded. Kurenai and Asuma sighed in relief.

"Anyway, after I arrived to the village hidden of the sound, I used a map that was provided to me by Dosu, my client, and went to the Otokage's office where the documents were located. At first, there were very few guards, as a lot of them were probably mobilizing to attack the leaf village. I retrieved the documents and was about to leave, when I saw two sword stands next to the Otokage's table. I examined the first one, but only saw a tag of what I assumed would be the name of the sword," he said.

"What was it?" asked Kurenai.

"I think it was the legendary sword of the the storm god, Susanoo. It's called Kusanagi... or something," he replied. "Got any idea what it is?"

She nodded in reply. Gai and Asuma nodded as well.

"It's indeed a legendary sword, but I thought it was just that, a legend. The Kusanagi is also called Grass Cutter. It glows with a blue aura and is said to be able to cut anything," she said. Lee nodded slowly, taking in the information. Whoever the Otokage is, this person must possess the Kusanagi. Blue glow, can cut through anything, got it.

"So, when I found that only the sheath was there, I moved on to the next one. The sheath was present, but the sword wasn't. I read the name tag on the bottom. The sword was called Souseiki," he said. Kurenai's eyes widened.

"Well, it's good that the sword itself wasn't there. Legends say that it can only be wielded one with a pure heart, but has taken a life, and will vaporize anyone else. The conditions sound very contradicting. And according from what I know, the Souseiki is also called Genesis," she said. Lee nodded.

"Very impressive, Kurenai. I'm surprised that you know so much about these swords. And speaking of which, one of the reasons that the Hokage promoted me to a hunter is because I was able to wield one of them," he said.

Kurenai, Asuma, and Gai, were shocked.

Lee stopped running, as the other three stopped as well. He pulled out the sword from his back, allowing them to see the beautiful, white glow of the katana shaped blade. They noticed how the blade part of the sword was glowing a white, holy color. It filled them all with a sense of tranquility, although not knowing why. It could have been the pure essence of the light that was giving them that feeling. If the Souseiki had chosen Lee, he must truly be something special and the Hokage saw that. Lee placed his sword away and continued running, the three jonin following suit.

"After I obtained the Souseiki, I used it to incapacitate the remaining shinobi groups and guards in the sound village. On my way back, I found sound and sand ninjas sharing a clearing in order to get some sleep for the night. I rushed back to the village with all of my speed, turning a one week trip into a mere few hours. When I arrived, I told the Hokage of what I saw, as well as retrieving the documents to free Dosu and his squad. I then requested for the Hokage to remove me from the chunin exam. I dropped out of the exam, knowing I could easily defeat everyone there, because I wanted to protect the leaf village."

"There are would be opportunities for me to take the exam. At that moment, the Hokage offered me my place as a hunter shinobi," he finished.

"So that's why. It's because you possessed the five virtues," said Asuma. "Interesting... I never thought a kid would have all five."

"The... what?" asked Lee.

"Normally, one must go through a series of tests to earn the rank of either ANBU or hunter, but that's granted you're at the age of 18 or over. Younger shinobi must be recommended by a higher officer, or must possess the five virtues to become an ANBU or hunter class shinobi at a young age. Those virtues are; tenacity, supremacy, purity, loyalty, and sacrifice," said Gai. Lee thought to himself on how he possessed those virtues that Gai and Asuma spoke of.

"Can you give me examples?" asked Lee, completely dumbfounded.

"The act of taking an incredibly high ranking mission, not knowing whether you'll live or die because of a promise made to a friend, shows your tenacity. When you defeated all of those sound shinobi who surrounded you, that shows supremacy. By being able to wield the Souseiki, you show that you are not only pure in heart, but will not hesitate to vanquish evil. That act shows purity."

"Even when you had a fight with Tenten and probably wanted nothing more than to save your relationship, you proceeded with the mission to keep your promise. That is an act of loyalty. Finally, your act of sacrifice was shown when you gave up your position as a finalist in the chunin exams. You're probably the strongest and most qualified in there, but your duties to the leaf village are more important that you were willing to give up the opportunity of reaching a higher shinobi rank. I'm very impressed at you, Lee," he said.

"I never realized that I had such qualities. I didn't even do any of that to impress anyone. I was just doing what felt natural to me," said Lee, a bit proud of himself for being given a compliment by jonin ranked ninjas.

"That's probably another reason that pushed the other five even more. You weren't doing it for anything, and that's something the Hokage looks for, humility. Knowing that you would lose your chance to show your skills to the world and receive the praise that you've been seeking from everyone, you gave it up because of your much higher sense of justice and peace. You wanted to protect the village, everyone inside it, and you were willing to sacrifice everything," said Asuma.

"Now I feel very comfortable with someone like you in our group. I believe the Hokage made the correct decision in making you into a hunter. Anyway, I think we've been fooling around too much. We've reached our half point. We have to increase our speed. You all know what to do. Incapacitate or even kill any sound shinobi that you see. If you find any sand ninja, knock them out but don't kill them. Got it?" came his order.

"Understood!" said Lee, Kurenai, and Gai.

When the four leaf ninjas arrived at the border of the fire country, they split apart into two separate directions. Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma, were grouped together, while Lee was alone. Being the stronger one of the group, Lee preferred to be alone. In addition, the other three jonin couldn't allow themselves to be taken by surprise and would have a higher survivability rate by sticking together. Because of Lee's extensive training in the cave, the staff of the Iron Monkey, and even wielding one of the legendary swords, he was confident in taking the sound and sand ninjas alone.

Not wanting to kill, Lee pulled out his staff and stretched it to the regular seven feet. The Iron Monkey was ready to fight for his life. At first, no one was around, which didn't surprise the young hunter, seeing as though he got rid of a good number of sound shinobi. But after a bit of sneaking around, Lee found a pretty good number of them, waiting around for something. Of what, he didn't know. He was about to attack them but maybe waiting for whatever they were waiting for would grant him with a bit more information.

"Hey, did you hear?" asked a sand ninja. "The village hidden in the sound was decimated. I mean, the village itself is fine, but there's not a single shinobi left in there. Squad 4 visited the village to collect some rations, when he found that the guards were killed. Not only that, but the chunin that remained to watch over the village was cut in half."

"Yeah, I heard," said another sand ninja. "I also heard that someone has been going around and killing sound shinobi, especially the groups that were supposed to aid the small army who are already near the leaf village. I'm not sure who did it, but I think that person is one of the elite shinobi from the leaf village."

"I don't really believe that one person is strong enough to kill so many unless that person isn't human, but I think you're right. This ninja came from the leaf because a saw a water bottle near one of the corpses of the sound ninjas. The water bottle had the leaf symbol on the tag. If this is true, do you think the leaf village knows about our attack and is sending their elites to start trimming us down before the planned surprise invasion?" he asked. Lee's eyes widened as he felt his coat pocket for the water bottle and indeed found that it wasn't there. Damn it! He left a trace and now the sand have reason to believe that the leaf might know about the attack.

How could he have been so careless?

"If that's true, then we have to warn lord Orochimaru. We have to get him to push the invasion to an earlier date. I don't oppose the plan of attacking during the finals of the chunin exam..." Lee twitched. "... But if the leaf will send their mightiest to attack us now, we might as well strike back while we have the man power."

"You're right. But lord Orochimaru is still in leaf village. However, perhaps we can enter the leaf village and say that we're just there for spectating purposes. We have to locate him and tell him about this," he said.

"Or you can take a nap," said Lee as he appeared behind both unsuspecting sand ninjas and chopped the back of their necks, effectively knocking them out. He carried both men on his shoulders and searched for his squad.

Now that he knew when the invasion was going to take place, he would be able to return to the others and warn them about it. It's not too far away but not that close either. There's still some time to gather some last minute forces and trim down another few groups of enemy shinobi. Since they were in this one alone, utilizing as much time as possible would be one of the keys to victory. There's still a lot of work to be done, but now they are one step closer to forming a successful counter attack. Lee found his comrades, hiding behind trees. They didn't look like they were having too much luck in finding any information.

"Gai, Kurenai, Asuma, over here!" said Lee. The three jonin looked to him. They noticed that he was holding two unconscious sand shinobi, on his shoulders.

"I overheard these two talking about the invasion date and knocked them out for further questioning later on. They said that the invasion will be on the day of the final round. I also heard that Orochimaru is still in the village," he said. Asuma nodded and took one of the bodies. Gai took the second one.

"This is a huge step, and one that must be reported to the Hokage. Gai and I will go ahead, while you and Kurenai remain here. Take another hour or so and watch for any enemy shinobi who might be crossing into our borders. Don't let any of them pass, understand?" he asked.

Kurenai and Lee nodded. Gai and Asuma nodded as well and made their way back to the leaf village.

When they had fully gone, Lee turned to face Kurenai. He didn't want her life to be in any sort of danger, as she still had to live so she could make Kiba, Hinata, and Shino, stronger. He couldn't take the chance that anything would happen to her, just because he failed to protect her. He knew that Kurenai is a capable kunoichi, but maybe Gai and Asuma would need some help too. There's two of them, carrying two bodies worth of cargo. What if they get ambushed? What if they dropped the bodies while they are getting attacked? What if those bodies were stolen?

Their interrogation puppets would be gone.

Kurenai turned to her colleague.

"Sir, permission to-"

"Granted. Go now, Kurenai, they're not that far in front and we can't lose those sand shinobi," he said. Kurenai nodded.

Just as she was about to leave, a huge mix of sand and sound shinobi, began to appear before them. Lee clenched his fists and pulled out his staff. As Kurenai rushed away, the sound ninjas began to appear from nowhere, behin him even. Lee scanned the area around him, taking a mental head count of how many there were that surrounded him. It didn't look too bad, about 20 or maybe 25 sand and sound shinobi. It's a good thing that Kurenai and the others are gone. Things are going to get really messy in here and he didn't want them to see any of it. One of the sound shinobi stepped forward.

He was holding a kunai on his hand.

"You must be Rock Lee," he said. "We have orders to bring you in."

"To who, might I ask?"

"That is not a question that I will answer," said the shinobi. He raised his hands and snapped his fingers.

As if coordinated, all of the surrounding shinobi launched their most powerful jutsus at Lee. Lee rolled to the side, and saw an attack coming from behind. He twirled his staff in front of his body, creating a shield, and sent the sand storm to all directions. Lee closed his eyes, relying only on his senses, as the sand entered the eyes of some unfortunate ninjas who were stupid enough to leave their eyes open.

Using the sand screen to us advantage, he zipped to each of them, appearing only in a flash of shadow. Lee struck each of them at painful areas that caused them to collapse or faint from too much pain, but weren't killed. When the sand storm dissipated, the sound shinobi from earlier looked around him. All of his comrades were on the ground, some were groaning in pain, while others were unconscious. The Iron Monkey appeared behind him and struck his head just hard enough to knock him out cold.

"Geez... these guys are relentless," he said.

"Was that a complaint I just heard?" asked a voice from behind him. Lee rolled his eyes, recognizing the voice. "It's nice to see that you're not killing any of them, but maybe that's what you should do. These wounds are painful but can be mended using medical ninjutsu, you know."

"And you care, why exactly... Orochimaru?" he asked, lazily turning around to face the pale-faced man. He squinted his eyes at the older man and sighed. "And can't you come and pay me a visit without always resorting to shadow clones? If you're supposed to be some hot-shot shinobi, why would you be afraid of some kid like me?"

"I must say, your perception rivals that of the greatest Uchiha and Hyuuga clan members. But regarding the shadow clone, there's a reason why I can't join you right now. I admit, you've grown much stronger than I ever thought possible, and you've become a hunter, I see. I'm really doubting on whether or not I can actually kill you," he said.

"So why are you still trying? Just stop the invasion now. The entire leaf village knows about it, as well as the fact that the sand is in on it too. You have numbers now, but the leaf will still reign victorious. Your army is pitiful. There may be more of them, but the leaf will crush them. You can't win, Orochimaru. I won't allow it," he said.

"Bold words, but I suppose you have the power to back it up. You know, I'm really enjoying these conversations that you and I are having. Anyway, you should probably return to your village. You may have learned of many of my plans, but there are still a few that you don't know. I have no idea how to kill you yet, as you grow stronger and stronger every time we meet, but your allies aren't demi-gods like yourself. Even if you won't die, if they do, that will be enough for me," he said. Lee gritted his teeth.

"Alright, enough of these games! Why do you want to destroy the leaf village? What did they ever do to you?" Lee asked, enraged.

"If only you knew, unfortunately I don't have the time to explain right now. In any case, for making it this far, I'll reward you with something. I'm going to tell you my plan, not that there's anything you can do to stop it. You may have revealed some of my plans, but the world is ever changing. If anything, your meddling actually gave me a few new ideas. Granted they come to pass, I will destroy everything you hold so dear to you," he said.

"So what's with your plan? I'm curious," said Lee. "Whatever it is, I'll stop it. I won't allow you to get your way."

"There's really not much you can do to stop my plans. The wheels of fate are already turning, and it's too late for you you to stop them. You can slow it down, but it will still come to pass. As for my plans, here's a kicker... I plan to slay the Hokage. After that, I will burn down the leaf village and force you to watch it all," he said. Lee blinked a couple of times.

"You're going to slay the Hokage? That has got to be the stupidest thing that's come out of your mouth. He's an old man, looks frail and helpless, that much I'll give you. But he's not pushover. And if you start playing unfairly, I'm going to step in and turn the tables. Like I said before, I won't let you have it your way," said Lee. Orochimaru chuckled. Lee wondered what it was this guy was laughing about. Surely he knows what the Hanazawa clan is capable of, or at least what Lee was capable of now. So there must be something else. Lee narrowed his eyes at him.

Orochimaru simply smiled.

"You're powerful, Lee, very powerful. But I know your weakness... you are incapable of using ninjutsu and genjutsu. And since you aren't trained to use that area of shinobi art, you never noticed the genjutsu that you were in," he said. Lee's eyes widened as his surroundings started shimmering. He looked around him, there were odd structures everywhere, people in odd clothing that resembled that of the west. There were machines everywhere.

Just then, a feeling of nausia entered his head. Dizziness was really starting to claim him, but his healing power was stopping it from happening. Orochimaru was still in front of him, but he was laughing like a maniac. People were staring at them, like they were insane. The long haired man smirked triumphantly. Then, out of nowhere, a puff of smoke appeared beside Orochimaru. Out of the smoke... Kabuto emerged. The surrounding people backed away, whispering to each other about the magical scene that was playing before them. Lee gripped his staff.

"What have you done? Where am I?" he asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. You'll have to ask Kabuto that question. I only used genjutsu on you, he was the one who used a very odd jutsu... teleportation maybe. The so called shadow clone you saw earlier, was actually a genjutsu. All of the shinobi that you fought off after your squad left, those were all in your mind, created by me. I knew that the only way I can crush the leaf village, is if you're not there. You are the driving force with the power to stop me, but you won't be able to do that if you're not there," he said.

"What? Wait a second... don't tell me...!"

"That's right, Lee. You've figured it out but it's too late. Right when you left the village with your squad, for your mission, a genjutsu was cast on you and only you. I figured that if your squad felt a genjutsu on them, they would be able to dispel it and take precautions to dispelling anything that is on you," he said.

"That's not a problem at all. The leaf village doesn't need me to survive. They've been preparing for very long time now. And plus, your numbers have been trimmed and enough for you to be stopped. The sand may have some good shinobi, the sound may have some power, but the leaf will crush your army. You don't have enough man power to destroy the leaf village. You've failed, Orochimaru! Once I find a way to return to the leaf-"

"There won't be anything left behind," he said. Lee's was taken aback. "Surprised? Well, since you've failed to stop me, I might as well tell you one last thing. This is what you didn't figure out and will be the undoing of the leaf village. I've asked for the aid of the one village who has been wanting the destruction of the leaf since the Fourth Hokage came into power."

"Huh? The sand doesn't hate the leaf... I don't understand," said Lee.

"Not the sand, fool. But I suppose you wouldn't know this, as it is before your time. I've asked help from the village hidden in the clouds. You may not know about them, but their village has existed as long as the leaf village has, and possess a powerful shinobi army, as well as some long-time grudges against your pitiful people. The leaf village is prepared for the sand and sound. But what they don't know is, the cloud is in on it too. Even if you arrive in time to stop me, the damage will have been done. The leaf will fall!" he shouted.

"And by the way... welcome to the west, far from the village hidden in the leaves."

Angered once more, Lee charged at them and struck them down, only to see that they were nothing more than logs used for the substitution jutsu. Lee looked around him frantically, searching for any trace of Orochimaru and Kabuto. Even as they vanished, Lee heard one final thing from Orochimaru, and it drove him mad.

"Oh and... the invasion started today."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Hmm... ok... not exactly the way I planned it to go, but it all worked out. I hope you guys don't get confused in reading this, because I got pretty dazed when I was reading some of it. Odd huh? I get confused about my own work... what kind of author am I? Anyway, if you didn't understand what just happened here, I'll summarize it. Lee, Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma, left the village for a mission. Once they left, a genjutsu was cast on Lee, by Orochimaru. Because he is untrained in the ninjutsu or genjutsu arts, he didn't know that a genjutsu was on him.

Once the squad was far from the village, Orochimaru declared the attack on the unsuspecting leaf village. It's 3 vs 1; sand, sound, and cloud against leaf. I think that's about it. Seriously though, I didn't plan to write it out like this.

When I was writing the part after Gai, Lee, Asuma, and Kurenai, left for the mission that was assigned to them by the Hokage, I was very disoriented and sleepy. It was around 4am when I wrote that. When I woke up, hours later, I decided to keep that and just continue, disregarding some ideas that were swimming in my head at the time of. I didn't plan for the invasion to start so soon, but it was originally supposed to start before the final round of the chunin exam, of that I'm sure. So I guess in a sense, things happened a little earlier than what I initially hoped for, but exactly the way that I hoped for.

I wasn't really going to write the invasion until next chapter, or the one after, but it's all good.

Ja ne!


End file.
